Pokemon Dream (Kanto Arc)
by Kittykat1418
Summary: Ash and his beloved friend of years Serena have just become 10 years old, which is the age that is known for children to obtain their first pokemon and head out into the world, to do...well whatever they wish from there. For these children, what do they wish to do with their new friends? Anime rewrite. Amourshipping.
1. Pokemon - I Choose you

Daylight had long since entered a small bedroom in Pallet Town, yet the 2 sleeping occupants hadn't even stirred since. Not a shuffle, not a shudder. Not even a toss or turn, just silence as they cuddled into each other. Neither made a move as footsteps were heard tapping up the stairs nearby, or the creak as the door shifted open to reveal the brown hair mother with a disappointed smile emerging on her face. "Ash, Serena..." she sighed, clearly quite disappointed by the two children as she walked over to pull at the blanket of the loft bed. This arose a reaction from the female child, who's long blonde hair had been sprawling across the blanket and was tugged by the movement.

"...ugu..." she made a whimper, holding her hair with her eyes tightened. As she pulled herself into a drowsy sleeping pattern, her hair askew and drool leaking from her bottom lip, she looked around the room with half-lidden eyes until she saw the smashed Voltorb-shaped alarm clock resting by the wall opposite the bed. Cogs and springs ruptured that clock's surface, which the girl could just see said '3 am' indicative of the time it was smashed. Still too tired to truly focus, she reached over and shuffled the young black haired boy behind her. "Ash...ash...wake up.." she whispered, coaxing. Eventually, she heard the groan and saw the boy stretch out and awaken.

By this point, the mother had headed downstairs to prepare breakfast or something so the children had to process everything themselves. Suddenly, as they looked around the room, their eyes landed on the brilliant poster of the kanto starters and their brains snapped awake. "SHIT!" Ash yelped, realizing that they were very much late. The loud yell snapped Serena fully into processing, as she looked worried as well. "We need to head to Oak's lab, now!" the boy yammered clearly distressed by the realization. Serena nodded her head, pushing herself towards the edge of the bed.

After getting off the loft bed, both children began to get moving. Grabbing bits and pieces, Ash hadn't even bothered changing out of his pajamas by the time they had rushed out of the door. Serena, thankfully, had somehow put on a red dress with a pink hat during the time it took Ash to even process where his toothbrush was to brush his teeth. To be frank, the children were very thankful that their town was only a small location and nothing like the bigger cities of Kanto such as Celadon City and Saffron City. They were late enough as it is. Before they left the house, they made sure to yell a goodbye to Delia Ketchum, who responded in kind to the two children.

When they arrived at the lab, their childhood friend was already there with a poke ball in hand that had a small water droplet symbol. Maybe he thought he could hide his starter by not removing it from its pokeball, but Ash and Serena had done enough lessons since the time they met to know that a water droplet symbol on the starter ball meant that Gary had picked a Squirtle from the Professor. "Oh, you two," the mahogany haired boy noted as he walked over to the two, with his friendly smirk. "Finally arrived to get your starters?" but then he frowned, noting that they were panting a little. "I hope he still has some left, grandfather said he only had 3 Pokemon today, and I think I saw someone take a Bulbasaur already. But who knows, maybe he's got another Pokemon."

"Wait, does that mean he might only have 1 Pokemon left?" Ash asked, a little slow on the uptake whilst Serena's eyes had widened in surprise. She had been considering getting a Bulbasaur as she found it the cutest of the Kanto starter trio. When Gary nodded his head with some semblance of worry on his face, Ash seemed to be contemplating for a bit. But the two children headed inside without that contemplation coming out. Before they decided to call for Oak, Ash tried to ask. "So what do you want-"

"CHAR!" a loud voice was heard, fearful and shrieking as if in pain. This caused both of the children to gasp and rush into the backroom where the starters were selected to find a Charmander on the floor with electricity sparking of it. A Pikachu panting not to far away with burns on its midsection. Neither Ash or Serena needed to think for a few moments that there had been a fight recently, or literally seconds before they ran in. Nearby Professor Oak looked worried as if trying to determine what to do.

Almost instinctively, Serena ran over to the Charmander and held it into her arms protectively whilst Ash crept behind the Pikachu and grabbed the flailing electric type that proceeded to charge an electric shock into Ash's frail body for a few seconds before realizing the electric mouse realized he was being held by a child and looked less fierce and more pitiful before calming down and sulking in Ash's slightly scorched hands. Noticing this, Oak walked over to the two children with a clearly thankful face. He handed Serena a paralyze heal for the Charmander in her arms, which she quickly used to remove the sparkling electricity that radiated over the lizard's frail body. Pikachu seemed to be in a better state, though it remained silent in Ash's hands.

With the Pokemon more dealt with, the Professor straightened himself out and then addressed them. "Sorry that you had to see that. See, this Pikachu only recently got captured due to causing some havoc with my electrical wires," at this, a whined 'pika' was briefly heard as if the Pikachu was frustrated or embarrassed. Ash couldn't tell, but he didn't bring the critter to his body in worry of the mouse sparking him again. "And he's still very wild and feral, so I'm still trying to reign him in."

"Reign him in, train him?" came the curious question from the dark haired boy, as he looked down at the sulking Pikachu before thinking to himself. After a moment, he vocalized his thought process to the old man before him without a stutter in his words. "Professor, do you think I could be the person to train him? Look, he seems quite peaceful right now."

"That may be, my boy. But he did just shock you when you picked him up," came the worried and skeptical response from the old man, who looked at the electric mouse with wariness in his eyes. Nearby, Serena watched with worry in her eyes. What was Ash thinking, taking in a Pokemon that had just scorched his fingers?

"I don't think he meant to, he was just scared and already riled up due to the fight with Charmander. Likelihood, he just needs a friend who understands him," at this, Ash gently put a hand on Pikachu's head after curling the small mouse closing to his body for support. Whilst the rodent seemed to be definitely surprised, he didn't make any attempt to escape or even injure Ash further. If anything, he seemed pretty calm and still kinda sulky. "So, can I have him? Then Serena can have Charmander as her first Pokemon."

"Char?" came the confused mewl from the recovering Pokemon, confused by the statement as if it didn't understand what the concept of a trainer Pokemon was. Though, Serena just smiled and gently hugged the little fire type whilst being mindful of the tail. "Mander..." came the relaxed cry from the Pokemon before it fell asleep in Serena's warm arms.

"Well, I suppose if you think you can handle him..." there was still caution in the Professor's voice, he looked worried to be leaving a potentially dangerous Pokemon into the young boy's hands. But he reached over to his desk and pulled out two red devices and handed them to both children. "Those are pokedexes, you read about them in my class so you should understand how they should work," he smiled before handing the two Pokemon's balls over to the respective child. Charmander's had a small flame above the trigger button and Pikachu's had a electric bolt. "And here, 5 more poke balls for both of you," he handed Serena a bag to hold in her spare arm, as she cradled the sleeping Charmander like a baby.

Once all the discussion was settled, the children headed outside with their new starter Pokemon in hand. Before heading down the path, they decided it was best to scan their new Pokemon into the pokedex. "You first, Ash...you technically got Pikachu before I got Charmander," Serena said sweetly, as she rocked the sleeping, almost baby-like, Charmander in her arms. "I was considering nicknaming all my Pokemon, so I need a moment to decide."

"Alright then," Ash said, happy before he placed the Pikachu down on the grass before him. At this, the rodent looked at him with vague curiosity as if trying to gauge what the child was planning to do. Pulling out the red device, Ash turned it on and waiting for it to scan the electric rodent that he pointed at. After the dex registered it, he began to chant in a mechanical voice the details Ash needed to know.

_Pikachu, the Mouse Pokemon. This Pokemon has electricity-storing pouches on its cheeks. These appear to become electrically charged during the night while Pikachu sleeps. It occasionally discharges electricity when it is dozy after waking up.  
_

Before the Pokemon chanted much else off, Ash wondered to himself about potential morning scenarios where Pikachu would accidentally shock his surroundings before becoming aware of what happened. But he never vocalized this thought process, as the pokedex began to chant again.

_Type: Electric_

_Ability: Lightning Rod - this ability draws electricity of the surroundings onto Pikachu, increasing its ability to preform its special-based attacks as well as becoming immune to the damage dealt from the original electric attack._

_Gender: Male  
_

_Nature: Brave  
_

_Move(s): Thunder Shock, Growl, Tail Whip and Volt Tackle (Egg Move. Unlocked)  
_

Ash was definitely impressed by the ability of his new starter, Lightning Rod was classified as a rare ability for Pikachu. The standard being Static. So he was definitely surprised and happy that his Pikachu was slightly more special than the ones normally discovered. He didn't seem to realize during his wondering that the rare egg move that had been listed off was already unlocked to Pikachu. After noting the things he realized mentally, he turned to Serena and smiled. "Your turn."

With a smile and a nod, Serena pulled out her dex and handed it to Ash so he could scan the Pokemon more easily since it was still fast asleep and Serena didn't wish to wake it up, that would be pretty unfair to a Pokemon still recovering from being electrocuted mere minutes ago and dealing with a shock of being...well adopted. In her head, Serena had two names decided with a smile. '_If she's a girl, her name will be Delta. But if he's a boy, then he'll be called Igneel._'

_Charmander, the Lizard Pokemon. From the time it is born, a flame burns at the tip of its tail. Its life would end if the flame were to go out. Even the newborns have flaming tails. Unfamiliar with fire, babies are said to accidentally burn themselves and others._

Almost instantly, Serena made a internal promise to always protect her new Pokemon from anything that could potentially extinguish its flame. Plus, as she looked down at the sleeping Pokemon, she wondered of its age. Was it a newly born baby, was it even understanding of fire like the Pokedex implied babies wouldn't? Now with a decision, if her new Pokemon did prove to be a infant then she wanted to make sure that it never hurt itself.

_Type: Fire  
_

_Ability: Blaze - this ability activates when a Pokemon has been severely hurt in battle, increasing its dexterity and power of its fire type moves to insane amounts._

_Gender: Female  
_

_Nature: Timid  
_

_Move(s): Scratch, Growl, Ember and Dragon Pulse (Egg Move. Locked)  
_

"What does 'locked' mean again?" Ash asked to his friend, knowing she paid more attention to the theory part of lessons. He knew more about the battle part, whilst Serena memorized facts and details with ease.

At this, Serena just chuckled as she nuzzled her Pokemon close with a protective embrace before responding to Ash's question with the intellect of someone who memorized their lessons easily with the wish to know more. "Locked means that its currently unusable. As in, for Delta's Dragon Pulse. She has the egg move in her abilities, but she cannot access it just yet in order to make use of it," after grabbing Delta's poke ball and putting the sleeping Pokemon away to rest. "For a Pokemon to unlock their egg moves, all they have to do is practice and grow stronger. Usually its random when its unlocked or sometimes they unlock it accidentally when practicing or using other moves."

"Wait, Pikachu has Volt Tackle unlocked," Ash realized, turning to the critter on the floor that was staring back at him. "Does that mean he'll be able to use it instantly?"

"According to our lessons, I would believe so," Serena said, smiling. "Maybe command him to use it to test it out."

"Pikachu, use Volt Tackle," it was strange making a command, Ash decided. But he loved the feeling all the same, he had always wanted to become a trainer and this was just one tiny aspect of being one. For Pikachu, it was strange hearing a command. He wasn't trained when he was young, having to evolve out a sheer willpower as opposed to the normal friendship. In the wild, this was all he could do and that left him wary of trainers. Yet, the command was compelling all the same and before he knew it; he had electricity surging around him and was charging forward at lightning speed. Well...until he ran straight headfirst into the nearby stone wall, falling backwards with a whine of 'cha'. "Ah, Pikachu!" Ash gasped, running over and looking at the little Pokemon that was holding his head. "You okay there, bud?"

"Pika..." came the slight whine, before a nod was notable from the critter. Rubbing his head, he turned to Ash and wondered why he felt compelled to stay and listen to this boy's command when he had never felt such before. But he remained recluse for the time being and turned away from the boy after pulling himself up.

"Ash, is Pikachu okay?" Serena asked as she ran over with a worried expression on her face. In her hand was the bag with the poke balls, showing her dedication to make sure it was safe. When Ash gave a nod of 'yes', she relaxed and smiled. "Good to know. Lets head home for a bit, your mother might be wondering whats taken us so long. Remember, yesterday, she wanted us home after we got our starters to introduce her to them."

"Oh right, now I remember," Ash commented, before pulling Pikachu's poke ball out of his pocket and expanding it to full size. He then looked at the critter on the floor for a second before tossing the ball at him, only for it to be smacked back by the electric rodent's thunderbolt tail. Try after try, eventually resulting in Ash being smacked in the face by the returning pokeball.

"Ash, maybe he doesn't like his ball...lets leave him out of it, it'll be more comfortable for him that way. Maybe he'll even warm up to you more if you aren't forcing him into uncomfortable situations," Serena suggested with a smile. She then picked up the lightning-bolt styled ball, shrinking it back down and pulling some string out of her pocket along with a clip. With some crafting later, she pulled the newly formed necklace around the boy's neck. "There, now you can make sure it always stays nice and safe. Its easily unclippable if Pikachu is ever required to enter the ball."

Gripping the ball slightly, Ash noticed that the expand bottom was hidden out of reach to prevent accidental expansion when it was attached to the necklace. "Thanks, Serena. This is pretty cool. And yeah, duly noted on the poke ball deal," he said, rubbing his slightly bruised nose. It wasn't majorly damaged, just bruised thankfully. "Come on, Pikachu. I won't force you into the ball as long as you follow."

It seemed like the electric critter understood as he followed the pair out of the lab grounds. The two children noted that Gary had long since left, likely to begin his journey or introduce his parents to Squirtle. Deciding not to question too much into it, Ash and Serena with Pikachu in tow headed back to their shared home, a home that brought love and care for both of them...for very different reasons. The electric mouse waddled along behind them, not listening to their conversing about various stuff they planned to do once they head out. Once they made it back to the house, Ash held it open for both Serena and Pikachu before closing it behind them. Heading into the living room, they saw Delia eating some porridge on the sofa with a kind smile on her face. "Hey, you two. How was Professor Oak's?"

"Fine, we got our starters, Miss Delia," Serena smiled, before pulling out her fire-marked ball and revealing Delta on the coffee table. "Miss Delia, meet Delta."

"Oh dear, I've told you before to just call me Delia or mom. I'm sure your mother wouldn't mind, she did in trust you to me after all," whilst there was a smile on Delia's face, there was an aura of sadness that also enveloped Serena after she said this. Ash, who was watching with Pikachu, stayed quiet as he knew that is wasn't time to jokes or being stupid. After a moment of silence, Delia broke the air by petting the confused Charmander. "But this is your starter, what a sweet little thing. Delta, you said. Well, hi there."

"Charmander!" the little lizard cried, enjoying the petting as she bounced around energetically on the table. Even after the tense atmosphere from a second ago, Serena smiled at the cute display going on even though the reminder of her mother hit strong. Delia hadn't intended for it to hurt, Serena knew that. But still...her mother's death was never something that she could easily let go. It had been years now since she had heard the news that her mother had passed due to a freak accident during one of her races, she had been at the summer camp with Ash at the time. Thankfully her mom knew Delia pretty well already, so Delia was entrusted to look after and raise the daughter left in the wake of her mother's death. Since then, Serena had stayed with the Ketchums as her father hadn't bothered to claim her after all this time.

"What about you then, Ash. Who's your starter?" Delia asked, though she could evidently see the electric mouse that refused to give any attention to anything in the room. He had felt the distinct upset in the air not long prior, but chose to stay quiet throughout the entirety of it. It wasn't his place to question what was going on in the house or why there had been an aura of sadness.

"Oh right. Mom, meet Pikachu. He's a little reluctant right now. So don't mind him much," he commented, looking down at the electric mouse on the floor. "We're going to be heading out soon, so me and Pikachu will have to just learn to cooperate. But I don't think he'll be too much of a hassle."

"Well, since your about to head out," Delia noted, getting up. Placing her bowl down, she went over to rummage through some stuff and pulled out a oldish blue jacket, black top and blue jeans. She went over to hand them to Ash. "They were your fathers, I'm sure he would want you to have them. Who knows, maybe you'll run into him on your travels. You know he's always roaming the earth in attempts to discover new Pokemon," she then went back to rummaging around the house, even leaving the room after a bit only to come back with a full bag that she handed to Serena. "Just the essentials; change of clothes and underwear, blankets, tent, some lunch until you get to Viridian's pokemon center, and toothbrushes. Felt like you were more responsible to keep this stuff safe. And..." she then whipped out 2 bags, one with a cute loveball pattern and a plain green one. She handed the pink one to Serena and green to Ash. "To keep your poke balls and clothes in, you can sort things out now if you wish."

Serena did so instantly as she was already wearing her main clothes unlike Ash, arranging her bag out completely to give easy access to all the essentials for their travels. Ash changed clothes and then packed his pajamas into his green bag alongside his 5 poke balls and pokedex securely. "Well! Looks like we're ready to head off, right, Serena?" Ash asked, as he pulled the bag onto his back. Nodding her head, Serena picked up Delta and smiled.

At this, Delia let out a happy sigh and reached over to hug the two that she considered her children. All 3 settled into a group hug, happily. After a moment, Delia pulled away from the pair and began to speak. "Have fun, you two. And be careful out there. Wild Pokemon can be quite dangerous if you're not cautious."

Soon enough, Ash and Serena had head out and were leaving onto route 1. In Serena's hand was a map that Delia had given her so they knew where to go. "Okay, the outskirts of Pallet Town are called route 1. This route will lead us to Viridian City, where there's a pokemon center for us to stay at if we get there before night. If not, we'll have to set up camp tonight. Lucky for us, the worse of this route would be the wild Spearow that don't do well to humans staying out, but as long as well don't bother them...they shouldn't bother us. Plus, they're weak to Pikachu so we could relay on him if we need to. There's a rival between where we are now and the city, but there's a bridge that takes us over it, so the wild Gyarados that live in the water won't be a problem."

Ash nodded his head, before he ran out onto route 1 with an excitable yell which startled a few random Pokemon in the area. Rattata and Sandshrew scampered off, afraid of the human that had suddenly arrived. "Oops," Ash gasped, rubbing his cheeks awkwardly. "Didn't mean to scare them like that."

"Oh Ash, you numpty..." Serena whispered, laughing at the lovable goof that Ash was being at the moment. She couldn't help but love him, even if he was a little dense at times. He had always been there for her, comforting her after the passing of her mother and helping her many times during the camp.

"Sentret sen!" came a voice from not to far away, catching the attention of both of them to see a herd of Sentret being led by a clear leader that was of a paler color with pinkish-red rings around its tail and the same color ears, who was giving commands to the others. After a moment, the Sentret all darted in different directions besides the leader and soon came back holding stuff and formed a pile of berries and nuts on the floor. After that, the leader yelled out "Ret!" and the group began to eat without warning, indicating that the command was for them to eat.

"Aww, how cute," Serena smiled, finding the group pretty interesting the watch. However, Delta was hiding behind her leg nervously. After Serena noticed this, she smiled gently and picked up the little fire type and cuddled her. "Don't worry, they won't hurt you. How about you go introduce yourself and play with them for a bit," she placed the Charmander back down, waiting a second to see what happened. After a moment of indecision, Delta walked over to the Sentret nervously with a nervous kick of dirt. When the leader Sentret noticed her, it seemed to look stern.

"Sentret sentret," it said, directing the others into stance before turning back to Delta. "Sentret?" it asked after once, seemingly asking for Delta's name or something.

After a moment, Delta found her voice and yelped out. "Charmander char char," she seemed to be doing forms of sign language as she eventually pointed to Serena, which caught the Sentret's eye curiously. After a second, the pale-colored Sentret turned back to the group behind it and directed them to go home or something. Maybe they weren't a true herd and it was just looking after them. After this, it seemed to ask Charmander something and after a moment, both Delta and the Sentret came walking back to Serena.

"Whats going on, sweetie?" Serena asked, looking at the two from her spot sitting on the grass. Nearby, Ash was discussing with Pikachu about different things with seemingly no success to get the Pikachu to battle a nearby Pidgey. After a second, Ash was seen sitting down in defeat at the fact that his new Pokemon wasn't obeying him yet.

"Char charmander mander," Delta cried out a series of words based on her name, which confused Serena as she wasn't sure what her Pokemon was saying. Sometimes she wished she was a psychic, would be nice to be able to communicate with her Pokemon on a spiritual level. But after a few moments, she noticed Delta point at Sentret and then at a poke ball. After this exchange, the Sentret nodded its head.

"You wish to be caught?" she asked, directing her question at the Sentret with curiosity. Never had she expected to capture another Pokemon so soon into her journey, especially when she wasn't sure what she wished to do with her journey yet besides be with Ash.

"Ret," the Pokemon nodded its head, before looking back at the hiding Sentret's dens before turning back to Serena with a smile and twitch of the ears. In that moment, Serena understood. This Sentret had gotten bored of its current life and wished for something new, wished to be a trainer's Pokemon and seeing Delta made that wish grow.

Smiling, Serena picked up one of her spare balls and held it out. Seconds later, the unique colored Sentret was absorb. As the ball shook, Serena thought about the implications of the different coloration of her Sentret. Things like this weren't documented often, maybe in this 'herd'. The unique one was considered the leader as it stood out the most and maybe that was the only reason her attention was drawn to it. Normally, her studies told her that this occurrence was rare due to poaching and rejection-rates for Pokemon of 'shiny' colorations in the wild. As a result, she had never expected to see one so easily. But like she thought before, maybe in this 'herd'...the strongest was the unique one.

After the click dinged into her ear, she heard Ash's voice from behind her. "So you caught another Pokemon?" he asked, looking down at the poke ball in her hands. Serena hadn't fully reacted to what had happened, before she smiled and threw out the shiny Sentret again. Once the Sentret was back out, Delta cheered happily at having another friend. After this, Serena pulled out her pokedex and scanned her new Pokemon without a word.

_Sentret, the Scout Pokemon. When Sentret sleeps, it does so while another stands guard. The sentry wakes the others at the first sign of danger. When this Pokemon becomes separated from its pack, it becomes incapable of sleep due to fear._

_Type: Normal  
_

_Ability: Keen Eye - this ability prevents this Pokemon from loses its ability to scout out the opponent, preventing any drops of accuracy._

_Gender: Female  
_

_Nature: Serious_

_Move(s): Scratch, Foresight, Defense Curl and Iron Tail (Egg Move. Locked)_

_Extra note: This Pokemon is the rare coloration known as a Shiny, it is only observed rarely but it is thought to be more common in reality if this Pokemon's hunted rates and death rates didn't skyrocket._

"So what do you plan to call her, Serena?" Ash asked, trying to snap Serena out of her state of listening to the Pokedex even after it was done. He was half annoyed that his friend, who admitted ages ago that she wasn't sure what she wanted to do, had gotten a Pokemon before him. But at the same time, he was happy for Serena and knew his failing wasn't truly his or Pikachu's fault. He just needed to work on their bond.

"Oh right...sorry, I was focused," Serena looked at her new Pokemon for a moment, trying to come up with a name for her. Noticing her Pokemon's striped tail and the unique bubblegum like color until it clicked. "Bubblegum..." at this, the Pokemon seemed to understand and bounced on her tail as if responding. "You like that?" Again the serious Pokemon nodded her head, accepting the name. After this, Serena picked herself up and dusted her dress off. "What about you, Ash. Any luck?"

"Nothing, Pikachu refuses to respond to me and my poke ball didn't work. Then the Pidgey flew off before I had another chance to react. Not to mention, a Rattata almost stole my clothes thinking they were food until I managed to get it away," the boy signed pitifully, before reaching down and lobbing a stone in frustration before Serena could tell him not to. He soon regretted his rash actions though, as a Spearow rose out of the grass with a cry of annoyance.

"Uh oh..." Ash mumbled, realizing instantly that they were now in trouble. Spearow were known for their viscous tendencies after all...as well as jealousy for trainer owned Pokemon. It zipped over to them, crying out with vengeance. Almost instinctively, Delta and Bubblegum began to protect Serena with an Ember and Scratch. The latter was done as the Spearow swooped down, scratching its wings and releasing dozens of feathers to the ground covered in some blood. After the second swoop, Spearow caught sight on Pikachu and drove at him with a Peck attack.

Before he was hit, Pikachu grumbled and yelled out. "Pi...KA...CHU!" With a powerful Thunder Shock being released from his electric sacs, straight on the Spearow that soon crumpled to the ground with static rising off its body before fading. After a moment of silence, it began to caw out loudly without warning. Those caws, Serena recognized instantly as distress calls and knew what would come shortly after as her eyes widened in horror.

"ASH, WE NEED TO GO!" came her command, panicky as she picked up Delta and Bubblegum instantly and began to run as a flock of Spearow bolted out of a tree to answer their friend's distress. Sensing the distress of both trainers, Pikachu also began to run as he easily darted ahead of both of them with his quick speeds. However, that came at a disadvantage as the Spearow launched past the two trainers and dived onto the helpless Pikachu.

"PIKACHU!" Ash yelled, rushing over and swatting at the Spearow until he got in and picked up the weaken rodent that was bruised and cut in various places. Rips in his fur and skin leaked blood, patching and clotting as it dyed Ash's jacket red as he held that weak Pokemon close. But he dove forward, not caring that the Spearow were now attacking him. Serena looked worried, as she tried to direct some attention to herself if only to protect her friend.

Eventually, they came across a river as the sound of thunder began to fill the air as storm clouds covered the sun. "Ash, we gonna need to jump!" came another panicked command from the blonde haired girl, ignoring her knowledge of Gyarados living in the river before diving in to escape the Spearow flock. Before she even did the jump, she grasped around Delta's tail protectively even though it burnt her hand to do so. Ash followed not long after, knowing the risk of staying.

The water was salty, hard to breath in and neither could really swim against the current of the fast-flowing river. Narrowly dodging a Gyarados wasn't easy, but at least the Magikarp weren't a problem. However, it was still quicker than taking the breath as they soon vaguely saw a fishing hook that they grabbed onto the line of. After a couple of tugs, they were flung out of the water and onto dry land with all 3 Pokemon in tow.

Coughing, they soon heard the sound of a girl's voice and saw a young red-head running towards them as she saw the Pokemon. Only Pikachu was majorly injured, but Charmander was panting heavily with a slightly weakened tail that Serena had protected with her life whilst they were under water. "Those Pokemon, what happened to them?!" the red head gasped, clearly worried. Yet, she didn't seem to understand that it wasn't the trainers' fault. "What did you do to them!?"

Serena, after catching her breath, stood up with Charmander nestled in her arms protectively and trudged over to the girl with a pant. "We haven't done anything. If you wanna blame something, blame them!" she gasped out, pointing at the still angry flock that were still trailing them like a pack of Houndour. She panted a little more, before grunting out a frustrated string of words, before looking for any way to continue escaping. "If anything, we're protecting our beloved Pokemon."

At this, the girl recoiled any semblance of anger and it again melted into worry. "You have to get away from them, I can distract them for a bit. Use my bike, Viridian City isn't too far and there's a poke center there," at this, the girl grabbed a pair of poke balls and tossed out a Staryu and a Starmie before standing next to the river and yelling out a command. "Starmie, Bubblebeam! Staryu, Swift!" The two attacks crashed into the Spearow, halting them for a bit. "Go! Hurry!"

"Thank you so much!" Ash yelled, rushing over to the bike. It was small, but it had a basket on that he quickly placed the injured electric type in. He then hoped on, with Serena quickly getting on the back off as she wrapped her free arm around Ash to keep her steady. The bike really wasn't mad for too people, but they needed to go. Bubblegum ran up and grabbed the handlebar with her tail, hanging upside down as she stared at the flock like a sentry on duty.

Driving for not his, but Serena's and the Pokemon's life, Ash was determined to reach Viridian City as soon as possible. Rain smothered the area by this point though, making the roads very dangerous and its seemed like the Pokemon had gotten past the red head as they were returning in force quickly behind that after only a few minutes of freedom.

As the Spearow wrapped around the two children, pecking at their clothes and ripped them with their claws and peaks. Both of the children got cuts all over their bodies, but they continued to protect their Pokemon strongly, with Ash bending over to protect Pikachu. Bubblegum kept swinging back and forth, scratching every nearby Spearow with her claws. Serena's legs tried to kick at the Spearow's as well, even though it wasn't doing much and was just giving her cuts on the legs. Eventually one of Serena's yelps of pain as one of the Spearow's scratched painfully on her face, leaving claw marks around her eyes as blood dripped down off her face, sent Ash gasping and flying as his balance on the muddy road was left askew.

All 5 individuals landed on the muddy terrain, panting heavily as rain smothered their forms. The bike was toppled over and none of them could fully move, but Ash picked himself up and looked at Pikachu. "Please...get in your ball, you'll be safer..." the barely awake creature stared at the ball, and at Ash fearfully. Ash continued to beg, plead with the Pokemon to no avail before turning to look at his beloved honey haired friend. Serena was still bleeding heavily around her face, but with her open eye, she looked at Bubblegum and Delta and recalled both of them without hassle before collapsing more with a pained pant. At the sight of this, Ash grumbled and stood up before turning to the Spearow and holding his arms out protectively over his friend and Pokemon.

After a few painful seconds of listening to thunder and hearing Serena's pained whimpers, Ash had enough and bellowed out. "Spearows, do you know who I am?" the creatures didn't seem to care and continued to dive through the rain towards him, but Ash wasn't done. "I'm Ash, from the Town of Pallet. I'm destined to be the world's number one Pokémon Master. I can't be defeated by the likes of you. I'm going to capture and defeat you all!"

Lightning began to strike the area and Pikachu seizing his opportunity, seeing the trainer willing to risk his life for him, and dove forward. Grasping at his trainer's clothes, he pulled himself up with sheer willpower and leaped into the air as lightning surged into his body thanks to his lightning rod and he yelled out as a massive Thunder Shock surged through the area, sending all the Spearows to the ground as the shock wave backpedaled Ash into the ground unconscious alongside the now unconscious Serena and Pikachu.

Thankfully the trio's unconscious state wasn't permanent as they woke up shortly after as the rain began to clear in the skies. Weakly Serena nuzzled herself into Ash's body, still weak from her pained face and other scratches. Pikachu gently licked Ash's cheek, showing a non-found affection based on the encounter. "Ash...you..s-scared me," Serena whispered into his chest, as she struggled to speak through the pain. Her left eye was still closed to prevent blood leaking into it, but the bleeding scratch didn't look pleasant.

"S-" Ash didn't get to complete his apology as a rainbow emerged in the sky, a golden and glistening Pokemon flying over it. "What's that?" he gasped out, his pokedex somehow responding to his question with the notification that no dex entry could be discovered. Pulling themselves up, the group saw the smoldering remains of the bike lying near them. "G...guess that girl won't be getting her bike back...hope she's not too mad."

"She would understand that it was for a good course if we explain," Serena whispered as she leaned on Ash for support, before looking with a good eye to see Viridian City in the distance. "Come on, we need to get to the poke center...and the hospital as soon as possible," and with that, the pair headed off on their walk towards the nearby city in hopes of getting some medical attention for not just them but their Pokemon.

* * *

Ash's Pokemon  
Pikachu (Male)(Brave)

Serena's Pokemon  
Charmander (Female)(Timid) Nickname: Delta  
Sentret (Female)(Serious) Nickname: Bubblegum

Misty's Pokemon  
Staryu (Relaxed)  
Starmie (Quiet)


	2. Pokemon Emergency

"Attention, pedestrians of Viridian City! Attention, pedestrians of Viridian City! We have reports about Pokemon thiefs in our area! Be on the lookout for suspicious looking strangers! Repeat 'Be on the lookout for suspicious looking-'" came the voice of a young police officer with blue hair speaking from an intercom at her desk, she looked frustrated and tired from a day's work and seemed like she just wanted trouble to land on her desk. Then something caught her eye, so she turned off the intercom and left her booth to see what was going on.

Just entering the two, rushing was a pair of children. And the police officer was immediately concerned and worried when she caught sight of the blood dripping down one of the children's face as well as the severely injured Pikachu in the boy's arms. "Oh my," she gasped out, stopping the two children instantly. "What happened?"

Ash panted a little, as he held the unconscious Pikachu close to his body. "Spearow...I accidentally..angered...attacked...hurt...Serena...Pikachu..." a flurry of words left his mouth, barely registering in the police officer's ears. But she nodded her head in understanding, quickly pulling out a hand wipe to brush some of the blood off Serena's face and saw the deep scratch that ran from her eyebrow down to her cheek. Jenny wasn't a doctor by any standards, but she knew that it was very unlikely an injury like that would heal without scars.

"Alright, lets get you kids to the Pokemon Center," the officer stated, before pulling her bike from besides her booth. Indicating for the children to get into the side-cart, she got on the motorbike and waited for a moment before reeving up and charging down the street to the Pokemon Center that was bright and had the massive sign with the name on top of a Poke Ball. The doors mechanically opened, as the officer put on the brakes as quick as possible as she skidded into the main lobby and near to the dex with a pink haired nurse stood with an annoyed expression.

"Could you please enter the center without causing such a ruckus, Officer Jenny. You know full well there are injured Pokemon here that need to rest," the nurse ran in front of the desk and then spotted the injured child and Pokemon. "Oh my!" She then ran back to the desk and began typing quickly as she muttered something that neither of the children understood. "Alright, there's a stretcher for Pikachu coming soon. However, Jenny. You need to take the girl to the hospital."

At this point, Serena looked kinda faint and that was enough to make Officer Jenny nod her head. However, Serena wasn't done just yet as she, holding her eye in pain, reach forward with pokeballs in her spare hand and released her two Pokemon. Bubblegum looked mostly fine, some cuts and scratches, however Delta's flame was weakened by the rain and the river. She also dropped their now empty balls on the floor for the nurse to use. "T-take care of them..." she whispered, before collapsing backwards into Jenny's arms.

"Alright, lets get you to the hospital," the officer said, before leading the half-conscious girl out of the hospital. Serena waved goodbye to Ash and managed to mumble out a 'hope Pikachu's okay' to him before they left through the doors. This left Ash with the nurse and his injured partner until a pair of Chansey came in with a stretcher that was sized down for Pikachu. The Pokemon seemed to indicate to place Pikachu down. Ash did so and the Chansey then wheeled it into the theater room.

"Will Pikachu be alright, Nurse Joy?" Ash asked, after recalling how he had learnt that all the Pokemon Centers were operated by a large family of eerily similar women by the name of Nurse Joy, with a similar case being for Officer Jenny. As he wanted for a reply, his face twisted into worry. Would Pikachu truly be alright, he couldn't fully protect his newfound partner from the Spearow and he blamed himself for it.

"Sorry to say, but its a little too early to make judgement. Your Pikachu looks pretty severely injured, what happened to it?" the nurse asked, also looking pretty worried for the poor creature as she picked up Serena's Pokemon and carried them over to the Pokemon healing machine. For easily cured injuries, like a tail flame being slightly weakened and cuts, it was better to use the instant heal machine. But the machine couldn't heal severe injuries that Pikachu had received from the electric shock wave and the various attacks by the Spearow.

"Well...me and Serena had just started our Pokemon journey earlier today, I got a little sulky that I hadn't received a Pokemon yet and threw a stone in anger...that stone hit a nearby Spearow, not my intention I swear. But it got mad and began to attack us, Pikachu attacked back...but the Spearow called some of its friends. We ran away, but the Spearow flock kept coming back and eventually we had no choice but to attack back. Pikachu, with his last pieces of energy, used a powerful Thunder Shock powered by his lightning rod...but the returned shock wave and his previous injuries that the Spearow had caused..." Ash explained with a downcast face, he was really worried about Pikachu's health.

"I see," Nurse Joy commented, as she recalled Serena's injured Pokemon and embedded their poke balls into the machine and then switched it on. A low jingle could be heard as she began to speak again as the Pokemon within began to be healed. "I assume that Spearow were also the reason that your friend and her Pokemon were injured?"

"Yes..." Ash mumbled with an upset voice, almost choking up on his words. He remembered how Serena looked during the storm, how much pain she must have been in due to her face injury as well as her upset over Pikachu's injuries. Would her beautiful skin even return around that area...or would she be left to a potentially ugly reminder of his mistake? Would she blame him like he blamed himself?

After the machine dinged, Nurse Joy handed Ash the two poke balls. "Keep them safe, I need to go into the theater to help out with your Pikachu. Just wait out here, we'll update you as soon as we can," after that, the pinkette walked into the operation room and the light changed from green to red to indicate operation had begun. Ash was left alone and that made him feel worse than before.

Holding the two Pokemon close, he went to sit on some of the seats and release them. They looked around for Serena before turning to Ash with a cry in their own respective voices. Seeing this, Ash could only sign and explained. "Serena has gone to the hospital to get her face checked out...she'll be back soon. Until then, you're staying with me," it seemed like the two Pokemon understood as they climbed onto the nearby table and sat down. Delta looked worried, whilst Bubblegum kept up to a sentry duty like her species name implied. "Might as well called mom.."

Walking over to the video phones, he dialed in his mother's number and waiting for a few moments as the phone buzzed in his hand. A few moments later, the screen flashed on to show Delia smiling at her son with interest in her eyes. "Hi, sweetie. How's your first day been, caught any new Pokemon yet?"

"N-no..." Ash mumbled as he tried not to get choked up, Bubblegum and Delta came up and sat on the table that the video phone was situated on and looked into the screen. Noticing that his mother was looking at the Scout Pokemon with curious eyes, he chose to explain Bubblegum's identify. "The Sentret is Serena's, her name is Bubblegum."

"Oh how cute, nice to meet you," Delia smiled at the Sentret, who responded in kind. "Where is Serena anyway?" she asked, wondering where her foster daughter was situated. When Ash didn't instantly response, Delia asked again with a firm and concerned voice. "Where is she, Ash?"

"..At the hospital..." he eventually mumbled out, getting a wide-eyed look from his mother. Even without Delia saying anything, the black haired boy knew that he would have to explain and gave a watered-down explanation for what had happened earlier that day. "She got injured when we were running away from some Spearows due to my stupid error...Pikachu also got hurt..."

"Is she going to be alright, what exactly happened to her?" Delia asked, clearly concerned for the girl that she had raised for years. Years since the summer camp that Ash and Serena had attended when Serena's mother unfortunately passed away. Now that she recalled it, Serena had been in severe grief the first couple of months after the discovery that she was now essentially a orphan.

* * *

_"Serena, sweetie...come on out," Delia said, knocking on the door to the spare room that she had not long converted for Serena. No reply came, and no sounds of movement. Just dead silence, besides a light sobbing of a young girl in grief. "There's food on the table downstairs, you need to eat."_

_Eventually, she sighed and walked down after not receiving an answer. Inside the room, Serena was nestled on the bed with her head in her arms as she sobbed to herself. Her stomach hurt from her upset, as she thought about her mother. The one person that she had known her whole life, the person that gave her all the advice she knew...the person that was now gone. Those thoughts only caused her to sink further into her arms. "...Why...why did that Rhyhorn have to shake her off..."_

_The event that had killed her mother had been an accident, with her Rhyhorn being spooked by a Fletchling flying onto the field without warning, but that wasn't the point. It lead to her mother's death 'cause Rhyhorn jolted backwards and sent Grace Yvonne flying backwards into another Rhyhorn's horn, impaling her without chance to react. Serena had been an unfortunate witness to the event when she was watching the race live, seeing every gory detail. After that, Grace was rushed to the hospital...but her injuries were too severe and soon her will was sent to Delia to inform her of the new arrangement._

_Serena was already in Kanto, that hadn't been a problem...it was just the shock of everything happening. But she was left in a state of shell shock, unable to process what had happened and ultimately shutting down. She didn't eat, talk to Ash or Delia and didn't even say anything during the funeral. She was barely a husk of the girl she once was, the happy girl that just wanted her mother was gone...replaced by a hollow shell._

_Days passed, day after day of trying in vain to coax the child out, Delia had grown tired and just wanted to help. That was when she decided to disobey the 6 year old's privacy and opened the door unannounced, shocking the depressed child enough to coax her into looking up. Those dead eyes, how they used to be so full of life. Delia walked over and sat down on the bed with Serena. "Sweetie, you can't continue like this. I know it was a shock, trust me...it shocked me as well...but everyone has to move on. Your mother wouldn't want to see you walled up in here, not responsive or eating."_

_It seemed like the mention had been what Serena needed to lunge over and cry into Delia's chest, wailing about how unfair the world was. She wailed that Ash was so lucky to still have a mother, how her father didn't even care to claim her or anything. How she wished that the Fletchling hadn't flown onto the field or anything. Everything just poured out then and there without any influence from the mother, who just gently stroked Serena's hair._

_After that event, life returned to somewhat of a norm. Serena began to eat again, even interact with Ash and attend Oak's Pokemon lessons. She proved to be efficient with memorizing facts about how to care for Pokemon's needs and tips that weren't battle related. Yet, she couldn't stand being around the two Pokemon that now lived with her. Because they were reminders of her past. Rhyhorn and Fletchling had been transported over from Kalos, yet Serena couldn't bring herself to go anywhere near either and would freeze up whenever they came close. But it had returned to some norm at the very least.  
_

* * *

Of course Delia, in the present, hoped that Serena could come to terms with the two Pokemon as she truly wanted her foster daughter to be able to 100% recover. But she couldn't force it. Snapped out of her daze, she heard Ash's voice over the phone. "She's...fine, I think. Just a large scratch on the face, one of the Spearow's talons clawed her..."

"Well, when she gets back to the Pokemon Center. Tell her to call me, I have something to discuss with her," came the mother's command, calm and caring as all thoughts of Serena's depression left her mind. "As for you, mister. Make sure that you don't drive her insane and make sure to clean your underwear as often as possible," this brought a blush to the boy's face, causing Delia to laugh a little. "Well, sweetie. I need to go, Rhyhorn and Fletchling need feeding. Hope Pikachu and Serena are alright."

"Goodbye, mom...," Ash sighed as he turned off the phone, heading to sit back down with the two Pokemon following him. Then he remember that maybe he should inform Professor Oak about the Pokemon he and Serena had seen before arriving in Viridian City. It did look awfully similar to the picture of the legendary bird in the nearby picture. So he turned back around and dialed up the phone again to Professor Oak's number until the professor picked up.

"Oh, good evening, Ash. I see you've arrived in the Viridian City's Pokemon Center. How has your travel been so far?" the professor asked, before turning to a more concerned face at the recall that Ash had started his journey with what he could only assume would be a very disobedient Pokemon that could easily harm him with the electrical attacks. "How has Pikachu been, has he caused you anymore problems?"

"No, he hasn't...more...he's now hurt and its my fault...I accidentally disturbed a Spearow that began to attack us with its flock...," after that, he turned a little and pointed at the legendary bird on the wall. "But after Pikachu dealt with them, we saw a Pokemon that looked very similar to that one. It flew right over a rainbow. Do you know what it is?"

"That is the legendary bird of ice, Articuno," Professor Oak noted, before humming a little on the subject. Turning his attention back to the boy, he asked with curiosity and not disbelief like Ash had assumed would happen. "What did your pokedex say about it?"

"Nothing...not a single dex entry could be found for it," came the confused response from the young boy. What did the lack of dex entry have to do with the Pokemon he and Serena had seen fly over the rainbow.

"Then it was very unlikely to be Articuno, some legendary Pokemon from other regions haven't been documented into the pokedex 100% yet so maybe it was one of them that just happened to fly over. But honestly, I don't understand how you saw a legendary Pokemon so soon into your journey. Are you sure it wasn't just a hallucination?"

"No, Serena saw it as well...b-but...maybe we were both hallucinating...," Ash looked down a bit at the belief that he could have just hallucinated the incredible Pokemon, but then heard a doorbell over the phone. Quick to question what he had just heard, he called out. "Professor, what was that?"

"Oh, that would be my pizza. Sorry, my boy. But I have to go collect that now, so I have to hang up. Hope everything goes well in the future of your travels, who knows...maybe you'll one day discover the Pokemon that you saw," with that, the phone call ended and Ash sighed. He wasn't given a chance to sit down, as he heard a slightly annoyed voice behind him.

"Okay, I gave you my bike to let you get away..." he turned to see the red-head that Pikachu had accidentally wrecked the bike of, standing there with the stinged bike in her arms. Her face was anything but happy, however as she indicated up at the bike with a slightly disgusted reaction to the burnt frame, "...but I wasn't exactly expecting to find it burnt to a crisp. Mind explaining what happened?"

"Well...we continue to drive away, but the Spearow caught up...we got knocked off the bike and...Pikachu managed to use a powerful electric attack to beat the Spearow. But I think...your bike must have gotten caught in the crossfire," he looked down for a moment with regret evident in his eyes and posture. "I'm sorry that your bike got ruined. If I could, I would repay you."

After a moment of silence, the girl put the bike by the door and sighed before going over to Ash and holding her hand out. "It doesn't matter much now, what matters more is that you got those Pokemon to safety and away from those crazy Spearow. Is your Pikachu alright? And where's that girl you were with?"

"Serena got hurt by the Spearow...but I think she'll be okay...as for Pikachu," he looked over to the theater room, the girl following his eyes with her own viridian ones and realizing quickly what he meant. "...Oh, I never introduced myself with all that rush...I kinda should since I don't know if we would have been as safe if you didn't let us take your bike. My name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town," he took her hand and shook it.

"Misty Waterflower..." for a moment, the red head mused over what she should say. But she eventually answered with the honest truth, not point in hiding it as she decided afterwards. But it still seemed like there was some hidden mysteries kept quiet. "From Cerulean City. I'm a water-type trainer. I assume you and that girl are new trainers?"

"Yea...Pikachu is my only Pokemon...and they are Serena's," he indicated to Bubblegum and Delta, who were watching the pair intently with curious and worried eyes. Worry for their hurt trainer likely. "Serena likes to nickname her Pokemon, so Sentret is called Bubblegum and her starter Charmander is Delta."

"Oh, I see," Misty walked over to the pair and gently petted them both. Sentret smiled and did a little bounce on her tail, whilst Delta looked a little embarrassed. "Aww, they are so cute. I hope your trainer will be okay," she then grabbed at a pair of poke balls on her bag. "You saw two of them earlier briefly, but come on out!" she called out her Staryu and Starmie, the two flanking her when they left their red glow. "Meet Staryu and Starmie," a third light had also emerged to form a Goldeen that had landed in the red head's arms. "And Goldeen."

"Are you on a journey too?" Ash asked, as Misty recalled her 3 Pokemon back their poke balls for safe keeping. Without giving the girl a chance to answer, Ash chose to explain what he and Serena planned to do with their travels initially. Or at least what he knew they had planned. "Me and Serena are planning to head around the region, me battling the gyms. Not sure what Serena wishes to do though."

"Me, not really I suppose. I kinda just wanted to get out of the house and go meet some new water types," Misty explained as she sat down at the nearby table. "That's what I was doing earlier, fishing up some water types...but instead I fished up 2 children...and their Pokemon. But I suppose if I didn't fish you up, you would have been in more problems."

"Maybe...there was a Gyarados in that river...," Ash commented as he remembered his sighting of the Pokemon in the salty river waters even though it hadn't be too clear to see what was going on underwater, as he pet Delta on the head with a sigh. Instead of enjoying the pet, Delta looked concerned from her trainer's friend as she toddled over to hug him to comfort him.

"Seriously?" came the question from the girl, who seemed more afraid than excited. Like maybe she was actually scared of one of the water types that she seemed to train. Noticing that Ash seemed curious, she sighed and explained. "I have a minor fear of Gyarados, almost got eaten as a baby..." she then grumbled a string of words out. "...Stupid sisters didn't pay any attention...to what I was doing...until afterwards...Like...always..."

After she said this, she noticed that the theater room's light was changed back to green and the nurse walked out with the Chanseys pushing the stretcher that had Pikachu on top. Ash instantly got over and ran over to them. "Pikachu!" there was no response from the still unconscious Pokemon, but he looked less bruised up and more alive than he had before. "Is he alright, Nurse Joy?"

"Your Pikachu is doing just fine, the operations were a success and he should be alright by morning. But he needs to rest up here for the night," the nurse responded happily, as she looked down at the sleeping Pikachu. "He'd be up and bouncing right now, but he's still under some anesthetic," she then turned to the Chanseys. "Take him to the recovery suite," the Chanseys then cried out their names and walked off. "As for you two, I'm assuming you'll be wanting to stay over the night in our trainer rooms?"

"Yes please," the two children said in unison, then Ash added with a curious tone of voice that devolved into some sort of awkwardness. "...Can me and Serena share a bedroom or is that not allowed?" he looked kinda embarrassed as he asked, rubbing his cheek awkwardly. Beside him, Misty looked pretty surprised to hear that question.

"Is there any special reason?" the nurse asked, quite surprised as well by the request made. Not once had she expected to hear such a request from a young boy that she assumed had only just started his journey. "As if there isn't, I unfortunately cannot allow it as the rooms are made to allow for the privacy of all the trainers and it would be strange for a female and a male trainer to be together."

For a moment, Ash seemed to be thinking and neither of the two females could work out what was going on. Then he spoke, with upmost truth in his voice. "Serena can sometimes have nightmares, so she has always shared her bed with me...I don't want her to have a nightmare when I'm not around, as she draws comfort from my presence."

"I see. Well...then, I don't mind as its for a good cause," the nurse smiled, before going over to her computer and typing some things in. "Alright, that's 2 bedrooms booked out," she then reached under the table and handed them some keys. "There's your keys, your room numbers are listed on them," the two children analyzed their keys and saw that their rooms were right next to each other to their somewhat surprise. But they weren't given a chance to question...

Because a pair of poke balls came crashing down through a window on the roof of the building. Glass splattered over the floor, as the poke balls cracked open to reveal a Ekans and a Koffing staring back at the children and nurse. Before either of the children or Nurse Joy could react, Koffing's mouth open and he blew a massive smokescreen around the area. As the smokescreen disperse, a pair of teenagers/adults (Neither child could fully tell) emerged with a upright Meowth next to them. The rather dramatic entrance was granted alongside the female of the pair instantly saying. "Prepare for Trouble!"

"And Make it Double!" the male said, as the smoke disperse enough to reveal that he had blue hair and that his partner had magenta hair. The female's hair seemed to defy logic as it was styled long and sharp. Their Pokemon stood between them, with Meowth looking sinister in the back.

"To protect the world from devastation," spoke the woman, though her words seemed completely different to what her expression and motives seemed to be implying. Was her 'evil' looking face a cover-up for her actual wish to protect the world, or was the line just a hypocritical statement. Ash believed it was more likely to be the latter.

"To unite all peoples within our nation," the pair then smirked, as they made rather dramatic poses. The male held a black rose in his hand for no apparent reason...or understanding as to where it came from in that short of a time span.

"Jessie!"

"And James!" he then threw the black rose, in a dramatic fashion that made little to no sense and seemed only to be added for a sense of 'coolness' or style. The rose landed on the floor, only to be forgotten moments later like it had never existed in the first place.

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light," at that moment, Ash looked so annoyed by the phrasing at the line. Had the trio been called 'Team ROCKET' just for that very cheesy line? Or was it only him, who felt that line was too...on the nose.

"Surrender now or prepare to fight."

Then the most surprising part of the overly dramatic scene was the Meowth opening its mouth and speaking in a masculine voice heard by everyone, human and Pokemon. "Meowth, that's right!" None of the children or Nurse Joy had ever heard a talking Meowth before, or any Pokemon for that matter.

"What do you two want?" Nurse Joy asked worriedly and with some anger also present in her voice. "You can't just barge into a Pokemon Center with that loud racket, there's sleeping Pokemon here that need healing."

"Exactly, we can take the weakened Pokemon and sell them for profit if they're rare," James commented, a evil smile on his face. "All we have to do is..." he paused, turning to Koffing with that same smirk that spoke trouble. Soon after, he made a command to the poison type Pokemon that caused Nurse Joy's and the children's eyes to widen. "Koffing, use Sludge!"

"Kof-fing..." the Pokemon gurgled out, splattering sludge towards the two trainers and the nurse in the room. The Sludge splattered on every surface, marking it with the poisonous energy that radiated from the attack. Luckily it didn't actually hit any of the trio, as they dodged in time. The poisons from a sludge attack could be fetal if untreated, so they did get pretty lucky.

"Delta, Bubblegum!" Ash yelled, catching the attention of the two Pokemon that stood near to them. As they looked at him, the black haired boy pleaded with them almost as soon as he noted they were paying him the attention that he had called for. "I know I'm not your trainer, but we need your help!"

"TRET!" "MANDER!" The two Pokemon nodded in agreement, jumping in front of Ash. They looked determined, despite Delta's timid nature. She just wanted to protect her friends and the Pokemon.

"Delta, use Ember. Bubblegum, use Scratch!" he yelled out, commanding his beloved friend's two Pokemon. He was upset that he had to direct them instead of Serena, but she needed to get help more than help out here and get injured more.

"Staryu, use Bubble Beam!" yelled out Misty from besides him, making Ash realize that she had sent out the Staryu, who's body rotated until a small hole in the star formation was revealed. Bubbles emerged and splattered into the two Pokemon nearby alongside the Ember and Scratch attacks.

"Ekans, use Wrap!" Jessie cried out, angered by the attacks against her. The snake-like Pokemon ran over and wrapped around Delta's frail body, for a moment before realizing the now slightly injured Pokemon. In the release, Ekans was knocked back by Delta using Scratch to protect herself and slashed into a nearby power cable and turned off the Pokemon Center's lights.

Joy whispered into the two children's ears. "Come on, we need to hide whilst we have the chance. I don't know how long your Pokemon can hold out," Misty and Ash nodded their heads and ran, coming across the confused Chanseys and Pikachu. Ash gasped, picking up his sleeping Pokemon before darting into a storage room before Ekans and Koffing saw where they went.

There was many poke balls around the room, likely full of many injured Pokemon. "Alright, we need to activate the backup power," claimed the nurse, as she called out. "Pikachu!" a massive amount of Pikachu charged out into the open and claimed onto an apparatus before using Thunder Shocks repeatedly until the power turned back on.

"Whoa," Ash commented, having never seen such a display. But when he thought about it, it was likely a common practice to use electric Pokemon to power electricity. He held Pikachu in his arms, noticing that his eyes began to twitch. "Pikachu, if you can hear me...I'm sorry that I caused you to be in this state..."

"P..." came a whine from the half-awake Pokemon before nothing was heard afterwards, Ash sighed and looked over to see Nurse Joy putting poke balls into a machine. He was pretty confused for a moment, but then realized that she must be sending the injured Pokemon to another Pokemon Center for safety purposes.

Suddenly a loud bang was heard as the doors jittered opened to show the Team Rocket pair with their Pokemon. Ash gasped, handing Nurse Joy his Pikachu, and grabbing one of the Poke Balls that had been scattered on the floor by the loud bang. Throwing out the Pokemon carried within to reveal a small Pidove, it was afraid and with a damage wing. Not a fighter by the slightest. Thus when it was scared off by Ekans, it was no surprise.

By this point, Misty had enough and called out Starmie. Her two star Pokemon stood beside one each other as she called out. "Use Bubble Beam!" the two Pokemon reacted instantly to the call and sent bubble after bubble at the two poison types. "Ash, take Pikachu and the others and run as quick as you can!"

Ash nodded and ran with Nurse Joy as fast as he could into the main room of the building. Team Rocket somehow got past Misty by this point, chasing after the two escaping individuals. Misty gasped out, trying to redirect their attention to no avail. By this point, all the racket had fully stirred Pikachu who weakly let off a Thunder Shock from his position in Nurse Joy's arms. The attack connected with most of Team Rocket, Meowth discounted as he had dodged the attack after seeing it coming. However it was weak and unskilled, leaving very little damaged to the opponents.

"Huh, that didn't even hurt. Your Pikachu isn't worth anything with that power level," James commented, with a smirk. "Easy for us to beat then. Koffing, spread a Smokescreen. Blind them, we can then sneak past and steal the Pokemon!"

Pikachu frailly got to the floor, yelling at Ash. "Pika! Pika Pikachu!" Ash wasn't sure initially what the electric rodent wanted, but then he saw the Pokemon indicating towards Misty's very wrecked bike. Nodding his head, Ash ran and pulled the bike into a stand. He got onto and pedaled it, seeming to note that the light flickered on and off until he produced enough speed to keep it stable. Pikachu smiled, climbing on top. He looked at the light and bite into it, absorbing all of the electrical energy that it processed. His wounds healed completely and his power returned.

"PIKACHU!" He yelled, sending a powerful Thunder Shock through the air that connected with the natural gas that Koffing expelled regularly from its body on-top of the Smokescreen. This connection exploded, leaving the Team Rocket Gang flying out of the roof and collapsing most of the building around the children and nurse. All 3 of the individuals that remained looked pretty stunned, with Ash having some burns from his close proximity to the electric attacks.

In the air, Team Rocket had managed to grab a hold of a rope extended from their hot air balloon shaped like the cat-like Pokemon in their roster. Meowth was shocked, fried by the electricity and explosion, but also in a metaphorical sense. "Dat Pikachu's powa was much unlike a normal Pikachu's powa! James, yer were 'rong to assume!"

"You're right!" Jessie realized, before smirking at a thought that came into her head that she knew would be 'oh-so-brilliant' if it succeeded. Then she realized her 'oh-so-brilliant' plan to the boys in the group. "Lets capture that rodent and sell it to the boss, it will make us a massive profit!"

"Yeah!" James and Meowth agreed energetically, wanting money like their female partner. So that was there plan, capture that boy's Pikachu and make money from the fact it was clearly special in some way. Whether the group would be successful or not depending on how Ash and Pikachu developed their powers in the future as a team.

* * *

The next day, Nurse Joy sat at the remains of her desk with her still somewhat functioning video phone that was connected to the Pewter City's Pokemon Center. The Nurse Joy on the phone began to speak, happily. "All the Pokemon that you sent have arrived successfully and are completely safe, sorry to hear that the center was destroyed. How are those kids?"

"On their way to your city as we speak through Viridian Forest," the younger Nurse Joy joyfully commented with a similar smile to her older sister, before looking at Officer Jenny, who stood behind her in the ruined mess of a Pokemon Center "After all, if it weren't for that boy and his Pikachu. All the Pokemon would have been stolen today."

"I think they'll be just fine," Jenny commented, confidence streaking of her very form as she happily commented on what she had seen earlier. She had arrived just after the explosion, finding out quickly that the culprit was the Pikachu that she helped the two trainers send to the Pokemon Center earlier than day. "At least from what I've seen."

At the edge of town and past route 2, stood the trio of children. Serena's arms gripped around Delta's body as she looked into the forest that was pretty scary from the outside. Her face was now adorn with a scar stretching from her eyebrow to her cheek, yet she didn't seem to care too much about it. Misty stood on the opposite side of Ash, looking pretty subtly freaked out for unexplained reasons. Ash, in the middle, looked happy and determined as Pikachu sat on his shoulder in anticipation.

As they stepped within, Pokemon didn't seem to show up for a while. At least until Misty let out a large scream, grabbing onto Ash's back for protection. The other two turned to see a small Caterpie staring up at them with cute eyes and curiosity. "Oh cool, a Caterpie!" Ash cried, happy to see the bug type Pokemon. Similarly, Serena also looked pretty happy. Unlike a girl, who preceded to scream after Ash said his words.

"NO, NOT COOL!" Misty screamed, hot tempered as she ran away from Ash to hide behind a tree with fear in her eyes. At the sight, Serena realized instantly that Misty wasn't a fan of Caterpie in the slightest. Or maybe it was the whole bug type. That latter thought was confirmed when the red head mumbled. "Bug types...are freaky..."

"I don't think its freaky, Misty," Serena smiled, as she hugged Delta close. This earned her a happy mewl from the little lizard, who happily snuggled into the embrace of her trainer. Turning to the little bug, the honey haired girl smiled happily down at it and continued to speak her personal thoughts. "Actually, this little guy is pretty cute. What do you think, Ash?"

"What do I think?" Ash wondered about the question his friend had asked for a mere second with interest in his eyes, before looking down at the Caterpie again. "I think I'm going to catch it!" Pulling a Poke Ball out of his bag, Ash launched it at the Caterpie without warning to anything in the area. Will it connect and catch?

* * *

Ash's Pokemon  
Pikachu (Male)(Brave)

Serena's Pokemon  
Charmander (Female)(Timid) Nickname: Delta  
Shiny Sentret (Female)(Serious) Nickname: Bubblegum

Misty's Pokemon  
Staryu (Relaxed)  
Starmie (Quiet)  
Goldeen (Female)(Sassy)


	3. Ash Catches a Pokemon

"Poke Ball, go!" Ash yelled, as the Poke Ball flung through the air towards the green caterpillar that stared back at them. With its smallness compared to the ball, the little critter got slightly scared by the approaching Poke Ball and tried to run off. However, it was struck by the ball and absorbed in. The ball shook, a sign of resistance from the Pokemon kept within. But after 3 shakes, a clicking sound was heard as a light flickered on and then off. Caterpie had been successfully captured. "YES!"

Quickly, he ran over and picked up the poke ball before spinning around dramatically with a pose. "I caught a Caterpie!" which moments later was joined by a cheerful cry of his partner from behind him. After that, Ash sent the little critter back out of its Poke Ball and smiled. "Hi there, I'm your new trainer."

Little squeals came from the little bug type, happy about the news. Giggling, Ash pulled out his pokedex and scanned the little critter that was bouncing around happily. Next to him, Serena was also smiling at the cute bug type. Though, not far away, it was evident that Misty was less than impressed by the news. Soon enough, the pokedex registered Caterpie in and began to read off.

_Caterpie, the Worm Pokemon. When attacked by bird Pokemon, it resists by releasing a terrifically strong odor from its antennae, but it often becomes their prey. It's easy to catch, and it grows quickly, making it one of the top recommendations for novice Pokémon Trainers._

_Type: Bug  
_

_Ability: Shield Dust - This ability prevents any secondary effects from moves happening, such as a paralysis from Thunder Shock._

_Gender: Male  
_

_Nature: Modest  
_

_Move(s): Tackle and String Shot_

Reaching his hand out, Ash prompted the little Worm Pokemon onto his arm and then stood properly up right. "Look, Serena. My new Caterpie!" his joyful attitude was reflected by Caterpie, who seemed to smile and be happy.

Smiling, Serena nodded her head and gently petted the Caterpie's head. "He's pretty cute, all right," her petting elicited an almost purr from the little critter, but she soon turned over to the trees behind them. "Come on, Misty. He's not going to hurt you."

It soon became apparent that Misty was budging from her location as her weary eyes watched Caterpie's every moment. As a moment, she mumbled out. "I...hate bugs..." she was definitely shaking, so it wasn't just a hatred problem. When Ash let Caterpie down on the ground to run around, he soon came over to her and she shrieked in terror as tears entered her eyes.

Almost instantly, Ash recalled the little bug type and Serena ran over to their new friend with worry in her eyes. "This isn't just a simple fear, is it?" she asked to the red head, as Misty shook a little even after the removal of her fear. Watching from his location nearby with Pikachu, Ash didn't dare step closer as he knew that his new Pokemon was the cause of the emotional distress in the red head.

"..No...when I was younger, I was attacked by...a group of bug types," came the whimper followed by response from the girl that Serena was trying to calm down. "...If...it wasn't for my sisters, I would have been in worse danger. But...thanks to them, I was saved...but s-since then...I..." Misty turned into a shaky fit, unable to finish her sentence. Eventually she looked at Ash with a sad smile. "Sorry...its unfair to Caterpie, isn't it...?"

"Maybe...but I'm sure he'd understand if you explained," Ash commented, holding the poke ball in his hand with caution. "Just don't scream, explain that you're uncomfortable to him and then it'll be fine."

A hesitant nod came from the red head, as Serena gently rubbed her back in a calming motion. In a moment's time, Caterpie was back out of his ball with confusion. All he wanted to do was meet the other girl, yet he was recalled after a scream? It was confusing to him, but he watched for a moment before Misty explained roughly what Ash had told her to say. It was genuine, filled with uncomfortable feelings and fear. Ending with a. "...J-just...keep a d-distance...please..," after hearing this, the little caterpillar seemed to nod and moved back towards Ash and Pikachu.

After a moment, Misty breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back into Serena's embrace. "S-sorry that I'm afraid of bugs...its kinda embarrassing..."

"No worries, its fine to be scared..." Serena looked forlorn after saying that, looking down at Charmander for a moment with her scarred eye before back at the red head. "See, I've been living in Kanto for a few years now...b-but...I would still be in Kalos if mom was around...I can't even approach her Rhyhorn and Fletchling anymore...and freeze up whenever their around."

Almost instantly, Misty realized what Serena was trying to say and her eyes widened. Somewhere in her, she knew it was inappropriate to ask. But she did so anyway. "...Your mother is dead?" when Serena flinched, Misty instantly realized her error and tried to answer with a flail. "Its alright if you don't want t-"

"No..." Serena cut off the red head with a sigh. "...Yeah, she's...g-gone..." Serena couldn't find herself able to say 'dead'...it hurt too much. But somehow, she couldn't find herself able to stop before explaining. "...S-she...died during a Rhyhorn race...I was s-staying in Kanto a-at the time for a P-pokemon summer camp...and w-was watching the race live...when she..." her throat went dry as tears leaked through her eyes, resulting in Misty bringing her in for a hug like Serena had done for her. "...A F-fletchling came onto the t-track...resulting in a mess up, mom's Rhyhorn k-knocked her...and s-she went f-flying i-into another R-rhyhorn's...h-horn..." Grim memories entered her mind, breaking her further. "S-since then...I..."

"Its alright," Misty said, attempting to be comforting. It wasn't her strongest point for certain, but she tried her best. "...You know, you're not the only one without a mother...," she then sighed, earning a look from the depressed scarred girl. "...My mother left when I was a baby, never even saw my father. My oldest sister, Daisy, was already 19 at the time...and was capable of raising me and my other 2 sisters. I suppose...Daisy is more of my mother than anything else."

"Guess we both have issues..." there was a small smile on Serena's scarred face, she got herself up and then helped Misty up. "We should support each other always. Plus, we're traveling together now so we need to trust each other. Come on, lets go over to Ash."

After a nod, Misty followed Serena to see Ash talking to Pikachu and Caterpie. After a moment, Delta ran over to the other Pokemon and yelped out her name. Noticing that Caterpie seemed to be sparking, Serena decided to ask. "What's he doing, Ash?"

"Oh!" Ash blinked, turning to the two girls. "I'm having Pikachu attempt to teach Caterpie Electroweb. I figured that Caterpie's string shot, if electrified could work," after a moment, Caterpie ejected his string onto the floor. It sparkled for a moment, before crumbling at the inability to hold the electricity and shape together. "Oh man, looks like we're going to have to continue practicing this. What you two doing?"

"Oh, well..." Serena looked at Delta for a moment, before turning her attention back to her crush with a sigh. "I honestly don't know...I joined the journey 'cause you wanted one...and I would have felt lonely. So...I never gave it much thought..."

"Me, on the other hand," Misty commented, after Serena stopped speaking. "Want to catch a ton of water type Pokemon...plus, I wanted a break from my sisters...and.." she trailed off, hiding something it seemed. But neither of the other children decided to ask. Instead, Misty shook her head. "It doesn't matter, just I wanted a break from my sister's and there...more unbearable traits. I love them, I really do...but Arceus can they be annoying."

Suddenly, a sizzling sound was heard as Caterpie spat up another electric-powered String Shot that soon created a web-like structure. It looked wonky and didn't hold for long, but it had formed the Electroweb structure. Suddenly, Ash's Pokedex turned on by itself and seemed to register something.

_Caterpie has learned Electroweb._

"Wait, if its reading that...then!" Ash smiled, petting Caterpie. The creature made some happy noises at the petting, curling into Ash's hand cutely. "Good boy, now you just need to master it so the structure stays consistent."

"Ya...g-good work, Caterpie..." Misty tried to be happy for the creature, though it was obvious that her smile was forced as she looked at the creature. Very awkward for certain. Suddenly she seemed to be looking at something, before pointing at the setting sun. "We s-should probably set up camp, its getting late...though I really wouldn't mind leaving this place...I know the forest can be dangerous at night."

After hearing this and seeing the sunset, Serena nodded and pulled her backpack off. Reaching in, she got out the tent set that Delia had given her. "Ash, Misty, help me put this up," she laid out the stuff on the floor and within 10 minutes, the tent was set up and ready. After that, Serena grabbed the blankets and put them into the tent. "We only have 2 blankets,...so..." she turned to Misty for a second. "Do we need to share, or do you have one?"

"I have one, Daisy refused to let me leave without one," Misty got into her own little bag and put her blanket into the tent. "Suppose that's everything, what about food though?"

"Oh, about that," Serena smiled and got into the bag. "Ash's mom made us some lunch yesterday, but we never got to eat it. So might as well have it now, it's good enough," she pulled out the food, revealing some cheese sandwiches and apples. "Its not much, but it'll tide us over until tomorrow," the other two agreed and each ate as much as they could with sharing. After that, Misty got out her toothbrush. "I didn't pack any toothpaste," she grumbled after realizing. "Do you two have any?..."

"Yep," Serena smiled, and handed the toothpaste before giving Ash his poke-ball designed toothbrush and holding her own pure pink one. "Delia wanted us to be super prepared, so she gave me everything. Ash is...a little forgetful at times."

At this, Ash blushed and turned away without trying to deny it. After everyone brushed their teeth, the group got into some pajamas and climbed into the tent with the Pokemon. Misty looked uncomfortable at the close proximity to Caterpie, but soon settled down when Serena got in the middle of the trio which meant Ash and Serena were between Misty and Caterpie. After that, everyone began to settle down for the night.

Well, until Caterpie woke up under the full moon and left the tent to sit on a nearby tree stump and look into the sky. Noticing this, Delta and Pikachu came out of the tent and sat down next to the little bug. Soon enough, Pikachu asked. "_You alright, Caterpie?_"

"_Ya, I just...wish that I could evolve sooner, be stronger for Ash. I also...have always wanted to fly up there, be near the gorgeous moon...like my mother once was. Its stunning..._" the little Caterpie looked so wishful, so happy as he stared into the pale moon.

"_Mommy always told me that flying was amazing,_" Delta commented, with a smile on her face. "_I used to always want to join her up there in the skies, especially when my big brother joined her up there. However, then..._" at that moment, an almost afraid aura wrapped around the group at that moment. After a moment, she clarified what was going on "_Like Misty, I have a fear...of heights..._" she looked down embarrassed. "_I know I'm gonna one day be a flying lizard...b-but...I got separated from mommy accidentally, some mean Fearow knocked me out of her arms when we were migrating. I was...soon found by that old man at the lab...and then Serena came...she acts so much like my mommy did! So I like her._"

Pikachu nodded his head, understanding that. "_Ash isn't like a father to me, he's just a friend I guess. If it wasn't for him, I doubt I'd be here...and so I trust him now..._" he looked back at the tent for a moment. "_Who knows, maybe one day I'll return how he saved me...by saving his life. It would only be fair...and I think every Pokemon should feel like this towards their trainer._"

"_Ya!_" came the happy yelp from Delta, who soon widened her eyes. "_I wanna protect Serena too, she already got hurt protecting me...I don't want that to happen again. So one day, I'll protect her!_" it seemed like Caterpie also agreed, based on the smile on his face during the conversation that the two starters were having. Then the fire type commented, with a swish of her tail. "_Maybe we should get to bed...its quite late..._" as if to confirm, she then let out a little cute yawn.

"_Okay!_" came the reply from the little bug, as well as a nod from Pikachu before the trio of Pokemon headed back inside the tent and came face to face with Bubblegum. The Sentret had let herself out the ball and looked pretty stern. Of the 3 Pokemon, Caterpie looked confused whilst the other two looked nervous. They hadn't known Bubblegum long granted, but it was clear that the Sentret was serious from the start.

"_So what were you three up to?_" came the comment from the Scout Pokemon, who seemed to want to cross her arms even though they were too short. "_Our trainers said it was bed time, so you 3 should be in bed. Not chatting up a storm, you should be glad that you didn't wake them with all that chit-chat._"

"_Sorry, Bubblegum..._" came the reply from the Lizard Pokemon, who looked down nervously. "_We were out with Caterpie, he left to look at the moon and we went to find him. We shouldn't have been out for so long._"

At that, the Sentret sighed and just indicated for them to go to sleep without another word as she went over and curled herself up next to Serena with her bushy tail wrapped over her face. At that, the other Pokemon soon joined. Caterpie went to sleep next to Pikachu near Ash's head, comfortably sleeping together. Whilst Delta went to sleep inbetween her trainer and Misty, wrapping her flaming tail around her body. At least the flame was pretty safe, it couldn't burn anything that wasn't a living creature. So it didn't set the tent on fire at all. After a little while, everyone was in dream land and comfortable.

* * *

To no one's happiness, the next day started ridiculously quick when Misty woke up only to find Caterpie had managed to move from his previous stop to curl on her chest that he had apparently found very comfortable. He looked pretty cute in his curled up state, but Misty looked absolutely horrified and let out a wail combined with a desperate scream that woke everyone up.

At the scream, Caterpie had ran off and ended up being comforted by Pikachu, who looked pretty annoyed by the rude awakening. Whilst that happened, Serena had instantly gone over to calm the red head down who was still shaky. Ash, on the other hand, was still clearing the sleep from his eyes before looking at his two Pokemon sleepily.

After Misty had calmed down a bit, everyone got up and prepared themselves for some more walking. It was still a way to go before they were out of the forest and they needed to be out as soon as possible as they were now without food with none of them having any way of preparing food. As they walked, everyone remained pretty silent due to their tired forms and still uncomfortable nature. However, their peaceful quiet was soon disrupted. "Pidgo!"

A loud cry rippled through the forest as a Pidgeotto landed before them, with the leg of a Spinarak peeking out of its lip that was soon taken in fully. "Oh, a Pidgeotto," came the sound of Ash as he noticed the Pokemon, before looking at his two Pokemon. "Should we catch it?" after the resounding cry of his partners, he picked up Caterpie and asked. "Electroweb!"

The web was still unstable, but it pinned the Pidgeotto to the ground as Ash yelled out. "Pikachu, use Thunder Shock," however when Pikachu began the move, he suddenly stopped and instead of releasing the full attack, his cheeks lit up and released static energy that engulfed the Pidgeotto and applied a paralysis to it. As if on cue, the Pokedex quickly commented.

_Pikachu has learned Thunder Wave, replacing Tail Whip in his moveset._

"Oh, I see. That'll help so much," Ash said as he threw the poke ball towards Pidgeotto, who's paralyzed state prevented movement as well as the residual effects of the breaking web that covered it. With the limited movement, the Poke Ball quickly absorbed the bird and left no room for resistance as Pidgeotto was caught quickly. Rushing over to collect the ball, Ash smiled and did his little capture chant that was now joined by Pikachu and Caterpie.

"Alright,...another new Pokemon for the group," Misty commented although she was still a little unsettled by the existence of Caterpie and the scare she had received, but she looked at the poke ball that Ash was holding delicately. But she then realized what Ash had captured, and smiled gently. "At least it isn't another bug..."

Not paying much attention to Misty's comment, Ash released Pidgeotto from the ball and saw that it looked unhappy with the arrangement. "Sorry about that, Pidgeotto. But think about it, you now get to travel the world with us," it seemed like Pidgeotto wasn't too bothered by that concept, but wasn't rejecting it. So Ash just sighed and scanned his newest Pokemon with the pokedex.

_Pidgeotto, the Bird Pokemon. Pidgeotto claims a large area as its own territory. This Pokemon flies around, patrolling its living space. If its territory is violated, it shows no mercy in thoroughly punishing the foe with its sharp claws.  
_

_Type: Normal/Flying  
_

_Ability: Tangled Feet - This Ability increases the Pokemon's evasion when confused.  
_

_Gender: Female  
_

_Nature: Bold_

_Move(s): Sand Attack, Gust, Quick Attack and Steel Wing (Egg Move. Locked)_

It seemed quickly enough that Ash's new bird wasn't happy, as she looked away from his without any indication of why. Instead, she just laid down and made no attempt to interact with Ash or the other Pokemon. However, she suddenly jolted up and glared at some figures that stepped towards them. "Pidgo!" she suddenly dived up and used a Gust attacked towards them, revealing who they were as the dust broke.

"Team Rocket!" Ash gasped, recognized them from the day prior. He was pretty mad, as they had wanted to steal everything including injured Pokemon. Almost in instant agreement, Pikachu was by his side with a loud yelling off his name in aggression. After Pikachu's aggressive cry, Ash almost growled out his next words. "What do you want?"

"Simples," the Meowth stated, before he pointed his middle finger at Pikachu. The other 2 curled around it, as he smirked. "Dat Pikachu of yers is crazy strong, its impressed all three of us. So, we will be stealin' it," the Cat Scratch Pokemon then unhinged his claws, showing them off with proud. "By force if necessary!"

Stepping back a bit, the three children were a little scared of what the Meowth could potentially be capable off. However, it turned out to be a ruse as Jessie and James sent out their Ekans and Koffing respectfully. The two Pokemon stared the trio down, menacingly. Clearly, they had an unfair advantage against Pikachu. In a instance, Serena placed Delta on the floor and prepare to attack...but was stopped by Ash's hand. "No, I'm not gonna let Delta get hurt. Pikachu will be fine. Won't you, buddy."

"Pika!" the electric mouse jumped forward, staring back at the two Pokemon before him with anger in his eyes. He was prepared to fight back. Standing there, he watched the two Pokemon's movements carefully as he waited for any command to be stated. Deep down inside, he was actually super excited to kick these guys' butts and show them what true power was.

It wasn't long before one was called out, loud and clear. "Ekans, use Dig. That puny rat won't see you coming, and will be easy pickings!" came the yell from the female Team Rocket member, leading to the purple snake-like Pokemon to jump up and charge underground with incredible speeds that didn't give much room to react.

"Pikachu!" Ash called, getting the electric mouse's attention as he twitched his ears. "Listen around you and then jump!" listening carefully, Pikachu followed his senses and as the moment stroke. He leaped into the air as Ekans charged out of the ground, narrowly missing the attack by a hair. "Now use Thunder Shock!" turning around mid air, the Mouse Pokemon charged his attack and then fired it off. It smacked straight into Ekans, charring its body without warning.

Even though he wasn't down for the count yet, Ekans looked pained as it drew back towards its trainer. It seemed like Jessie was distressed over Ekans pain. Seconds later, she growled and yelled out. "I'LL MAKE THAT RAT PAY FOR HURTING HIM!" with the yell, Ash realized that Ekans was a male like his Pikachu and Caterpie, could come in handy to know in the future if he needed to apply some strategies.

As if on cue, James finally chose to get involved. "Koffing, use Sludge. Avenge Ekans!" the floating poison type spit up pieces of sludge towards the group, that Pikachu hopped around to dodge without command. But eventually, he was struck in the head and blinded.

"Pikachu!" Ash gasped out, rushing over to pick up the blinded Pokemon that was shaking furiously. "Don't worry, buddy," he quickly handed the electric rodent to Misty. Seconds after seeing her confused face, he explained. "Look after him," then he turned back to Team Rocket with anger in his eyes. Turning to the Pokemon that was sat on his shoulder, who was watching intently. "You ready, Caterpie. We're gonna beat their asses!"

With little warning, the Caterpie leaped from Ash's arms onto the floor below with a little chirp of joy. Both Serena and Misty watched worriedly, how was a small Pokemon like Caterpie meant to take down 2 much larger Pokemon. "Use Electroweb!" the web came clean out, sparkling with electricity and pinned the two Pokemon. It was fading fast, Ash knew that would be the case however as he quickly made another command. "Use String Shot!"

Seconds later, the string ejected from Caterpie's mouth and wrapped around Koffing's body as the web faded. With surprising strength, Caterpie jolted backwards and pulled the relatively light Koffing before releasing the string. The force of the momentum sent Koffing flying back into Ekans, who's previous damage wasn't capable of taking the hit and fainted. To say Jessie was peeved was an understatement, as she recalled the fainted poison type. "James, you better win and capture those damn Pokemon!"

"Right," came the answer from the blue haired boy, before he pointed at the Caterpie to indicate for his Pokemon to aim at. "Use Poison Gas!" the gas moved around the field before Ash could response, as Caterpie was unable to dodge and thus took in the gases. At this, a purplish hue formed on his mouth and he began to breath heavily under the state of the poisoning. "Now use Tackle!"

"Caterpie, dodge and use Electroweb!" Caterpie, despite his weakened body, leaped out of the way of the tackle and spat out his electrified web. Since it wasn't just a status move, it did the damage required before it faded away and left the Koffing wide open. "Now finish it off with Tackle!"

Lunging forward at fast speeds, Caterpie charged into the Koffing and sent it to the ground with a giant impact. This left Koffing fainted, as James looked frustrated before he grabbed his poke ball from his bag and opened it. "Koffing, return! Do something Meowth!" the male yelled at the remaining awake Pokemon on their field.

Before Meowth could use Fury Swipes though, Caterpie used another string shot and wrapped it around Meowth's body to prevent movement. This seemed to give Team Rocket the cue that it was their time to go, as James picked up Meowth and both of the humans ran off. Before they were gone, Jessie yelled out. "We will return to get that Pikachu!"

"Will be sure to beat you when that happens!" Misty yelled, competitively as she held Pikachu close. On the other hand, Serena had ran over with an antidote in her hand to give to Ash. With no words said, Ash quickly removed the poisoned state from Caterpie and patted him happily.

"Good word, little buddy. That was a great battle," the Caterpie jumped into his arms then as Ash fully stood up. "Honestly, I was intending to use Pidgeotto," the bird Pokemon looked a little upset that she wasn't included in the battle, but it wasn't too horrid. "But I let Caterpie have a chance at battle."

Not needing to be told more, Serena patted the bug type's head with a smile. "Yep, good work there Caterpie. Oh, Misty. Hand me Pikachu," the red haired girl did so, as Serena pulled out a handkerchief from her bag to wipe the sludge off of Pikachu's face. After doing so, the electric mouse jumped to the floor and let out a 'pika' in thanks. Before Serena put the handkerchief away, Ash noticed what it was. Noticing him staring. "Ash?"

"Is that the handkerchief from?" he asked, curious, to the scarred girl. Somewhere in him, he knew that the handkerchief was the same one as before...but he wanted to be certain.

"Yep, the handkerchief that you wrapped around my knee at camp...I had intended to give it back, but since we moved in together...I...just kinda forgot and kept it around," she smiled however, before reaching down to pat Pikachu on the head. "You did good too, Pikachu. That sludge was just a fluke."

"Pika, pikachu!" the Pokemon nodded his head, clearly intending to prove himself at another time. But, he wasn't given much chance to continue making promises to his trainer as Misty's face caught his attention. "Pikachupi?"

"Huh...oh," Misty looked uncertain at first, but then nodded her head to herself before she reached towards Caterpie. An action that surprised both of her new friends, but they didn't stop her. This might be what she needed, to be able to connect with bug types more easily in the future one day. As she tried to pet him, she whispered out a congratulation. "Good...wor-"

But she wasn't given that chance, as Caterpie suddenly released a ton of string shot from his mouth. Surprised, Misty jumped back with a squeal as Ash put Caterpie on the floor. Watching with curiosity as the Pokemon began to evolve and expand in size, it was soon noted that it was no longer a Caterpie that stood there. When the light faded, a green cocoon stood there like a still rock. "Metapod," it introduced itself, making its species name known to the world.

As in on cue, the Pokedex flickered on and caught Ash's attention. He indicated towards Metapod with curiosity, waiting for the entry to register. Meanwhile, Misty looked quite freaked out and had made no effort to move from her position on the floor from where she was fallen after the surprise. The dex then clicked in, speaking out the dex entry.

_Metapod, the Coccon Pokemon. Its shell is hard, but it's still just a bug shell. It's been known to break, so intense battles with it should be avoided._

_Ability: Shed Skin - this ability gives the Pokemon a chance to heal itself from a status condition on occasion by shedding its current skin._

_Metapod has learned Harden._

"Metapod, cool," Ash seemed happy as he picked up the cocoon with delicate fingers. His face was filled with so many emotions, happiness and pride being the prominent ones. "Good work, now all you need is a little more training to before a Butterfree."

"Meta," the Pokemon's face seemed to fill with emotion, though it didn't move much to show any semblance of expression. Pulling out his poke balls, Ash recalled Metapod and Pidgeotto into their balls, knowing it would be easier to move in a smaller group. Then he turned to look back at his two friends, a determined smile on his face.

"Well, lets get going...," came Misty's voice after a moment of silence, she looked uncomfortable still. But she had pulled herself up and was looking through the trees as if she was looking for an exit to the forest. "...I...really wanna leave this place if you don't mind..."

"Sure thing," Serena smiled, as she picked Delta back up. "And don't worry too much," as she walked over to Misty, she let Delta's tail curl upwards a little. "If any bugs come near us, they'd be spooked off by Delta's fire typing. You don't have to worry about anymore turning up and I'm not planning to catch any here."

"Lets get going, Pewter City can't be far away and I heard there's a gym there," Ash seemed excited as he spoke this, earning Pikachu's attention. Noticing the Pokemon's interest, the boy began to explain what he meant. "There you can battle, and earn a gym badge. Its a proof of your skills as a trainer."

"Yep," Serena smiled as she pulled out her pokedex, turning on the search system and looked up the gym leader. "You're going against Brock, the rock type leader first. Pikachu might not be the best bet, however," she commented, noticing something in the notes that worried her a little as she knew Ash had many issues against the rock/ground type currently. 2 Pokemon that were weak against the rock type and another...that was weak to ground. "He uses rock/ground Pokemon, Pikachu wouldn't be able to hit them with his electric attacks."

"Well, we'll be fine. I'm sure of it. Right buddy?" Ash's excitement hadn't settled down, even after the warning of the super effective type. In fact, it seems to have excited him more than frightened him. Like he wanted the challenge more than anything.

"Pikachu!" and they were off, continuing to walk through the forest with plans to take down the gym as soon as they reached it. After all, it was Ash's quest and purpose. To become a Pokemon Master!

* * *

Ash's Pokemon  
Pikachu (Male)(Brave)  
Metapod (Male)(Modest)  
Pidgeotto (Female)(Bold)

Serena's Pokemon  
Charmander (Female)(Timid) Nickname: Delta  
Shiny Sentret (Female)(Serious) Nickname: Bubblegum

Misty's Pokemon  
Staryu (Relaxed)  
Starmie (Quiet)  
Goldeen (Female)(Sassy)


	4. Challenge of the Samurai

"I AM SO SICK OF THESE WOODS!"came Misty's loud squeal when another Weedle came up to rub at her legs, she was terrified beyond believe and it was beginning to wear down the others' patience for her. Eventually, with tears in her eyes, she turned back to Ash and Serena. "...When are we getting out of these disgusting woods?"

"Well, assumingly," Serena said as she opened her pokedex's map function. "If we continue going straight, we'll be in Pewter City long before night fall," that seemed to give Misty some relief, as she breathed in and out. "Don't worry, just stay close," at this, Serena put Delta on the floor and stated. "Flare up your tail a bit, girl. It might scare away the Weedle that keep bothering Misty."

On command, Delta's tail flame burst up significantly more. Any wild Pokemon nearby began looking more freaked out and backed away. Seeing this, Misty definitely relaxed significantly and chose to stay close to the little Charmander. Even though she had just made the command, Serena was already back to scanning her pokedex for the local Pokemon. In fairness, she didn't think she would catch anything here as she assumed they were all bugs like Caterpie or flying types like Pidgey and Spearow. But when her pokedex stated a cute little grass Pokemon like Budew, she was curious. "Sinnoh sound?"

"What?" Ash asked, turning to his best friend with confusion in his eyes. Clearly he didn't understand what she was referring to. On hearing his confusion, she called him over and pointed at the screen. "Maybe it means you have to play music from the Sinnoh region and they'll come out. Hand me the pokedex," she did and waited a second, as he tuned it. Moments after, a calm track was heard playing. It was soothing and serene. "I believe it matches up to most of the music up north in Sinnoh, its quite a cold region with a lot of history."

"Bu?" the voice Serena had wanted to hear chimed in, and she turned to see the cute little grass bud staring up at her as it clapped its red and blue vines together in a melodic way as if reacting to the music that the pokedex was playing. "Budew bud," the critter than began to dance upon realizing what its vines were clapping too, clearly excited to hear music from its native region.

"Aww, how cute," Misty commented, complimenting the baby grass type's movements and joyful attitude. She turned to Serena with curiosity, before asking a simple question that would probably easy to guess the answer to. "Are you planning to catch it?"

"Yep," came the response, as Serena turned to Ash with a smile on her face. "Thanks for this," she then walked over to Budew. The happy creature stopped bouncing and looked up at her with curious eyes. There was no fear, just curiosity. Even after Budew saw the Charmander that had stepped to join Serena's feet. "Hello there, little one," the girl knelt down in front of the grass type with a smile on her face. "Want to join me on my journey?"

"Bu..." it seemed like the grass type was thinking for a moment, before running back into the bush and leaving Serena confused for a moment as to what was going on. When the little baby walked back out of the bush, it had a cute star piece held by a vine that protruded from its little body. "Bububu!"

"Does that mean?" to test what her thoughts were telling her, she held out a poke ball for the Budew to touch. In all fairness, she didn't want to have to hurt a Pokemon to catch it. It was easier to let them join of their own free well. If Budew chose not to join her, she would be perfectly fine.

"Bu!" another vine emerged from the Budew's back as it touched the pokeball with it. A flash of red light absorbed it into the ball, as it dropped to the floor. Shake once...twice...thrice. And click, the light flashed and then the ball glimmered a little. Almost instantly, Serena released the Budew from the poke ball and smiled. "Budew!" the critter smiled back, happy to be on the team.

Noticing the star piece more carefully, Serena knew it would be tearing to carry all the time and wanted to make it easier. Opening her bag, she pulled out a piece of string and smiled. "Little one, can you hand me your star for a moment? I'll give it straight back," after a little cry, the vine reached over to hand Serena the star piece. After some work, a necklace-like structure was formed. Carefully, Serena wrapped it around the vines on Budew's head and let the star hang down between the grass type's eyes. "There, now it'll be easier for you."

A bright smile emerged on the Budew's face as it bounced into Serena's arms and cried out in succession of what could only be assumed to be a thank you. Patting the grass type's head, she could only answer with a. "Your welcome," before releasing Bubblegum from her ball. "Alright, Bubblegum, Delta. Meet your newest teammate," after that, she took her pokedex back from Ash and scanned Budew as she thought of a name.

_Budew, the Bud Pokemon. Over the winter, it closes it bud and endures the cold. In spring, the bud opens and releases pollen. The pollen scatter can induce harsh sneezing and runny noses._

_Type: Grass/Poison  
_

_Ability: Natural Cure - when this Pokemon is placed back into its poke ball, it is capable of healing itself from any status condition that has been inflicted._

_Gender: Female_

_Nature: Jolly_

_Move(s): Absorb, Growth and Extrasensory (Egg move. Unlocked)._

"So you're a little girl, how sweet," came the smiling response from the scarred girl, as she continued thinking of a nickname. "How about I name you..." she re-noticed the star pendent and smiled. But 'star' sounded boring, so what could she used as a synonym for star. Thinking up, she eventually had to smile as she recalled her birth language's words. Including the word for star. "How about Etoile? Do you like that?"

"Bububu!" it seemed like the jolly Pokemon was happy with her name, as she bounced up and down happily in Serena's arms. Serena pulled herself up and turned to her friends. Etoile stared at them curiously, before deciding that she liked them as she continued to energetically bounce in her trainer's arms.

"She seems really happy with you, Serena," Misty commented, looking at the bubbly Pokemon. but then she noticed Ash's Pidgeotto that stood near them, still looking unhappy with the new arrangement. "Unlike someone else in our group," it seemed like Pidgeotto either wasn't listening or just chose to ignore Misty. Either way, the trio of children were happy to have their newest member.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Team Rocket pair were carrying around a tank made out of cardboard through the forest. On top, a Meowth sat lazily. He looked quite annoyed with the state of the tank. "Dis tank ain't goin' to protect ya from rain, let alone a herd of Beedrill. Ya know!" he yelled out, looking quite frustrated with their decision.

"Well, we had to make it from cardboard to lessen the weight," as if on cue, James spotted a Weedle chewing on the side of the cardboard. A clear sign that their cover wasn't going to work like they had intended. And that was when a wild Beedrill spotted them. "Yep...not going to work, your right!" He pulled out one of his poke balls and hurled it at the Beedrill with some hope of it capturing the attacking Pokemon.

After a few anxious seconds of Jessie and James watching the shaking Poke Ball, it eventually clicked, surprising both of them. It took a few moments and James picking up the Poke Ball to realize what had happened. "I caught a Beedrill, its such a villainous Pokemon for me. Don't you think?"

"Yep, but don'cha think it'll be hard to control?" Meowth questioned in return, looking pretty worried that Beedrill could still be hostile and attack them if released. The Weedle that had been chewing the tank had ran off, after seeing the thrown Poke Ball at the fear of also being caught by the trio.

"Probably," as if to prove it, James released the Beedrill from its ball. It flew in place, looking pretty docile as it watched its new trainer with potential curiousity. There was no anger or fear present. Which was a good thing, the Team Rocket trio assumed. "Use Twineedle on that tree," he indicated after recalling Beedrill's main signature move, pointing at a nearby tree.

Listening to the command, Beedrill did as requested and surprised the Team Rocket trio when he ripped the tree in two with his needles. Jessie looked pretty excited by the realization, before pointing it out to the others. "Looks like we have an obedient Beedrill on our side. James, request it to go find Pikachu!"

"Beedrill. Go hunt out a Pikachu. It belongs to a boy with black hair!" James commanded to his newest Pokemon, before the bee-like bug type began to fly off under the command. The blue haired boy then turned to his teammates with a grin on his face. "Now all we gotta do is follow him, he'll lead us straight to Pikachu!"

* * *

"Hey, I saw that!" came a boy's cry from near the trio of children that were fawning over the new member of their group, causing all 3 to look to see a boy that was shorter in structure to them wearing a samurai's outfit and having a bug catching net attached to his back. Without giving them a chance to say anything. "You three are trainers, aren't you? If so, please battle me. Starting with you, blondie."

"Um...I'm not a fan of..." she tried to explain, but was cut off by him throwing out a Pinsir without warning. Delta looked scarred, running behind her trainer without instance despite the type advantage. Whilst Bubblegum stood in front, looking serious and annoyed with the boy and his Pinsir's presence. Whilst Budew looked excited, like she wanted to battle. Knowing she had no choice, Serena sighed and handed Budew to Ash. "Look after her, she's too young to battle currently," then she looked down at her leg. "I know you're scared, sweetie. But please, for me?"

It seemed like the request did it, as the fire type awkwardly stepped forward before her trainer and opposite the Pinsir. On the side, Bubblegum watched intently as if planning something without letting her trainer know. Deciding to referee, Misty walked to the side of the trainers between the opposing Pokemon. She was at a safe distance away as she waited for a moment before nodding her head. "The battle between Charmander and Pinsir...shall began now!"

"Pinsir, use Focus Energy," the Pinsir closed its eyes and focused for a moment, collecting his energy together. Serena was unsure how to counter this, she didn't know what the move 'focus energy' could do and she was already panicking. Battles weren't her thing, she didn't want to see Delta get hurt. Battling team rocket to protect the Pokemon was one thing, but a trainer battle was another.

But she awkwardly chose to make the command, trying to recall what Delta had in her arsenal as she shook. "Use Ember..." she called, awkward. It seemed like Delta picked up on the awkwardness as she shook as well, before firing off the Ember towards the Pinsir. With the weak attack, Pinsir could swiftly dodge after finishing focusing up his energy. This caused his trainer to smirk happily.

"Use Vice Grip!" the move came in strong, grabbing Delta around the waist. Scratches were ripped into the Charmander's body by the thorns on the Pinsir's pincers. It seemed to do a lot more damage than Serena was expecting, as she looked panicked. Frozen on the spot without a clue how to counter the Vice Grip that was encasing her poor Pokemon. She could hear Delta's cries of pain, and it hurt her so much.

"Serena!" Ash called out, noticing her confusion and panic. He had to let her know about the move that Pinsir had used. "Focus Energy increases a Pokemon's chance to do more damage in a single blow, you have to be more careful," this only caused more worry to enter Serena's eyes as she realized that she had let Pinsir get a major advantage.

"Delta!" she gasped, noticing some blood drip down Delta's body from the cuts. It wasn't the worse pain, but Serena looked panicked more at the sight of the blood as flashbacks filled her mind. But she counted her breath, trying to calm herself down. "Use Ember on the pincers," she called out with a gasp.

Despite the pain, Delta listened to the command and breathed out her hot fire onto the pincers that trapped her. The fire burned at Pinsir, causing it to let go off the poor fire type. Through the pain, she waited for Serena's next command with fear still present in her eyes. "Use Growl, Delta! Quick!"

Yelling out a mighty growl, Charmander waited a moment as the Samurai noticed that his Pokemon's attack had fallen. Yet, there was no complaint in his voice as he began to state in a matter-of-fact voice. "Simple girl, don't you know that a critical hit ignores stat changes like the attack drop. Use Bug Bite!"

As Pinsir's large mouth approached Delta, Serena suddenly had an idea and yelled out. "Use Ember, direct it at Pinsir's mouth!" as Pinsir's mouth grew wider for the attack, Delta breathed fire into it and burned the Pinsir's tongue. This dealt enough damage to effectively knocked the Pinsir to the ground, in pain. It was then that Bubblegum got involved without warning, using a rapid Scratch to finish off Pinsir.

"Oh my...Pinsir," the boy gasped, before recalling his fainted Pokemon without making a complaint about the sudden attack from Serena's 2nd Pokemon. Stepping towards Serena, who was hugging Delta whilst spraying potion over the fire type's injured body with a look of worry in her eyes. However, the Samurai looked pretty impressed and began his compliment. "I wasn't expecting you to win that, mighty impressive."

"T-thank you," Serena said as she finally calmed down, noticing that Ash was behind her now and rubbing her back in a calming motion. Deciding to finish saying what she wanted to before the battle begin. "I'm...not really into Pokemon battling though, I don't want to see my Pokemon get hurt..."

"Well," the Samurai rubbed the back of his head, realizing his error in requesting her to battle without giving her a chance to response. "I'm sorry for asking for a battle...I never listened to what you said," when he saw Serena's smile of forgiveness, he turned to the other 2. "Either of you wish to battle?"

"I wouldn't mind," Ash stated with a grin on his face. He looked like a little kid, who had just received a Pokemon as a Christmas present. This caused Serena to smile, happy to know that her crush was ecstatic. "I've been waiting to have a casual battle for a while now!"

"Alright then. I still have 2 more Pokemon. So a 2 on 2 battle?" the Samurai asked, already knowing the answer. He held his two Poke Balls in waiting for Ash's response, he was also pretty excited for the battle. Curious to see what Ash could bring to the battle, and the Pokemon that he owned in his aseranl.

"Alright then," Ash looked at the Pidgeotto that had been watching the last battle with him intently. She looked interested for sure. Even though he already kinda knew what the answer would be, he chose to ask the flying type the question anyway just to be safe. "Wanna have a go, girl?"

"Pidgo!" the excitement in the Pokemon's voice was enough of an answer for Ash, as he indicated for her to take her spot across from the samurai where Delta had stood not long ago in her battle. She looked pretty ecstatic as she waited on her opponent releasing a Pokemon from his poke ball.

"Beedrill, come on out!" the bee-like Pokemon emerged from the poke ball, looking fierce and battle ready despite the evident type advantage that was going on. After Misty made the call for them to begin battle, the samurai quickly seized the opportunity to get the upper hand. "Use Twineedle!"

"Counter it with sand attack!" Ash was equally as fast, Pidgeotto setting up a screen of sand before flying around at high speeds. With the lack of accuracy in the heavy sand, all of the twineedles missed their intended target. "Now use Gust!" the heavy flapping of Pidgeotto's gust attack sent Beedrill flying to the ground as the sand cover faded.

Despite the super effective blow, Beedrill got back into the air with angry in his eyes. "Beedrill, use Fury Attack!" the bug type flew close to Pidgeotto and began stabbing furiously at Pidgeotto's body, who weaved in and out of each blow until one eventually stab through her wing without warning. This left her vulnerable, on the ground with a damaged wing.

"Pidgeotto, return!" Ash gasped, knowing she was at a disadvantage and knew it would be better to use Pikachu or Metapod now. As he pulled out his poke ball, he turned it on and waiting for the red light to recall Pidgeotto in to where she would be safe. At least, that's what he thought.

"Not so fast, Beedrill. Use Pursuit!" the Beedrill quickly interrupted the red light that recalled Pidgeotto, attacking her with a high powered hit before she was fully recovered. For the watching Serena, the cry of the flying type hurt her ears and made her worry for what Ash intended to do next.

This caused Ash to clench his teeth after Pidgeotto was fully returned to her ball with frustration at not realizing that Beedrill might know Pursuit, but who would he use to finish off Beedrill. He had to chose one, as it was only a 2 on 2. Pikachu or Metapod. "Pikachu, do you want to?" he looked at his little buddy.

"Pi-ka," came the response, along with a shake of the head. Whatever the reason that Pikachu had for not battle, it didn't matter as the answer had narrowed it down for Ash as he pulled out Metapod's poke ball and threw it out. Maybe it was a stupid decision, but it could also get Metapod some experience to help him evolve into Butterfree faster.

"Metapod, use Electroweb!" the same electro-powered web as he used as his previous form spat over the Beedrill, and lasted a lot longer than he had before. And the damage remained a lot more serious, fainting the Beedrill after the damage it had taken previously from the gust. "Good work, Metapod!" came the compliment, which Metapod looked happy to receive. Well as happy as a cocoon with eyes could look.

"Return Beedrill, you did good. Mighty impressive," the boy complimented before throwing his next poke ball. "Go Metapod!" he called, releasing a Pokemon near identical to Ash's. Well besides the color. Ash's Metapod was a brilliant viridian green like the leaves surrounding them whilst the Samurai's Metapod was a bright orange like the trees in Autumn. "Metapod, use Harden!"

"Metapod, use Electroweb!" the two Metapods began instantly, the orange Metapod began to glow as it hardened its defense up whilst Ash's Metapod threw the electrofied web all over the other Metapod's body. Since the damage wasn't based on Metapod's physical defense, it still did the same damage as it would have before. "Now use String Shot!" Ash's Metapod was quick to listen to the command, making a lasso out of his web before shooting it towards the differently colored one.

However, before the lasso hit, something strange happened. A Beedrill ran down and grabbed Ash's Metapod without warning. "What!?" Ash gasped upon noticing the seemingly wild Beedrill that now had hold of his Metapod. "Metapod return!" he called, directing the light towards his Pokemon. However, it never connected as Beedrill ran over before two darkened figures as well as two other Pokemon. "Who's there!?"

"Why, you know us, boy," the male's voice called, as the light of the sun cleared over the field to reveal Team Rocket. Ash immediately looked frustrated to say them again, would they ever leave him alone? Yet, it seemed like Team Rocket didn't care for his feelings as James instantly made their wishes known. "Hand over Pikachu, or we'll bring you trouble."

"No way, Team Rocket! Give Metapod back!" Ash growled out, with a similar response from the electric rodent himself. Both of them were frustrated and wanted their partner back. That's when Ash noticed his buddy's already sparking cheeks, Ash just made the command easier by yelling out. "Pikachu, use Thunder Shock!"

"Etoile, use Extrasensory!" Serena suddenly yelled out, without warning. Ekans and Koffing got in the way of their trainers protectively, as Budew's psychic attack made contact with them as Pikachu charged his electricity up before releasing it. The powerful psychic move followed by the electric move was enough to take down the 2 poison types, but Beedrill was still a problem as it held onto Metapod.

"Beedrill!" James suddenly yelled without warning, revealing to the children who owned the Beedrill, before making a loud and clear command of his own. "Use Twineedle!" dropping Metapod, the Beedrill listened to the command from its trainer and ran towards the Pokemon that Ash and his others owned.

However, none of the Pokemon had to attack as Metapod suddenly charged forward and slammed into Beedrill's back with a tackle. This resulted in the now angered bee turning around and directing his Twineedle onto Metapod's shell, piercing the hardness. Ash looked horrified in that instance and ran to grab Metapod.

The gaping hole looked horrifying to look at, and made Ash assume the worse for his poor bug type. Was he seriously injured, Ash was panicking. However, a light emerged from the cocoon without warning as a figure emerged from the shell. Wings fluttered out, as the now empty shell rotted away. Flapping its wings in the air was now a fully grown Butterfree, that looked angered with Team Rocket. On command, Ash's pokedex turned on and scanned the newly evolved Pokemon like it had done earlier that day.

_Butterfree, the Butterfly Pokemon. Its wings are covered in toxic scales. If it finds bird Pokemon going after Caterpie, Butterfree sprinkles its scales on them to drive them off. It loves the honey of flowers and can locate flower patches that have even tiny amounts of pollen.  
_

_Type: Bug/Flying_

_Ability: Compound Eyes - this Pokemon's moves will have a larger chance to land, even after the effects of accuracy lowering moves._

_Butterfree has learned Gust, replacing Harden on his moveset._

"Good work, Butterfree!" Ash smiled, before turning to Team Rocket with eyes of anger that seemed to frighten the pair as they realized that the cocoon had evolved into the now much more powerful butterfly that flew above them. Knowing what to do almost instantly. Ash called out his command. "Butterfree, use Gust on Beedrill!"

Flapping his newly formed wings at rapid rates, heavy winds began to pick up and slammed into Beedrill. Despite the newly evolved power, it was more than enough to knock the already injured Pokemon out. This frightened Jessie and James enough into leaving, making another promise to return to steal Pikachu in the future.

Turning to his friends after the team's departure, Ash smiled and showed off Butterfree to them with a smile on his face. Even Misty didn't look uncomfortable in the butterfly's presence as she reached over and petted his head with little fear. "Good work, Butterfree. Ash, he looks beautiful in this form."

It seemed that Butterfree enjoyed the compliment as he let out a happy. "Free!" in response, flying around happily. He then flew back around them over and over, happy as a button. At least until Ash recalled him to his ball to rest. Which he accepted gratefully, the surprise of evolving had worn him out for sure.

"Mighty impressive, kid. You handled your Butterfree so well after it evolved, it clearly seems to enjoy your attention," the Samurai complimented, before turning to his orange Metapod that remained on the floor. "I still have some work to do, but maybe one day if your ever passing through the Viridian Forest again. We can battle, I would love to do a Butterfree versus Butterfree fight one day."

"You bet!" Ash said with excitement in his voice. He was clearly happy with that thought. "But we need to get going, the battle was fun. But we need to get to Pewter City before dark, right?" he turned to the other two, earning a nod from Serena with a verbal response of a similar manner to the physical one. "You heard the lady," a blush emerged on Serena's face at being called lady that was missed by everyone else except Bubblegum, who smirked at the realization that her trainer had a crush. "We gotta get going."

He began to run on the spot, as Serena and Misty walked on ahead. He waved, joined by his partner Pikachu, back at the boy and his shiny Metapod. A wave in response was certain, as Ash called back a goodbye. "See you around! I won't ever forgot about your battle request, don't worry!"

"Good luck on your journey," called the response, causing Ash to smile happily as he continued walking with his friends to the exit of the forest. What would his battle against the gym leader entail, he couldn't wait to find out. That was for certain.

* * *

Ash's Pokemon  
Pikachu (Male)(Brave)  
Butterfree (Male)(Modest)  
Pidgeotto (Female)(Bold)

Serena's Pokemon  
Charmander (Female)(Timid) Nickname: Delta  
Shiny Sentret (Female)(Serious) Nickname: Bubblegum  
Budew (Female)(Jolly) Nickname: Etoile

Misty's Pokemon  
Staryu (Relaxed)  
Starmie (Quiet)  
Goldeen (Female)(Sassy)


	5. Showdown in Pewter City

Exiting out on route 2, Ash was excited to see Pewter City off in the nearby distance. Pokemon littered the area, minding their own business as he looked on with happiness. Looking at his shoulder, he smiled with energy in his eyes. "You ready, Pikachu. We're going to be taking on the gym tomorrow after some rest!"

"Yes, rest is mandatory," came a giggle from the scarred girl that exited after him with Etoile in arm and Delta walking at her feet. "Can't have you be exhausted for your gym match. Plus, I think we could all do with some grub. Also its late and I'm getting tired, what about you?" she turned to Misty, who stepped out of the forest with a look of heavy relief in her eyes. She was very happy to be out of the bug-filled forest from the looks of it.

Hearing the question, she looked up and nodded her head. "Rest would certainly be nice. But we've got a few more hours in the day, maybe Ash could do with some training to prep his team before the match. After all, he's at a major disadvantage against Brock's rock and ground type Pokemon," it seemed like she blushed a little when she said Brock's name, something that caught the blonde's scarred eye and caused her to smile.

"Yeah, what about it, Pikachu. Ready for some trainin'?" the ecstatic boy yelled out, looking at his partner. Said partner had the same expression of excitement on his face. But when Ash spotted Serena's disapproving stare, he had to ask what was bothering her. "Um, what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing much. But before you go gallivanting off for training," she then smiled, petting Etoile happily, before continuing. "We should go heal our Pokemon at the Pokemon Center and get some rooms to stay in for the night. Maybe some food as well, would be definitely nice," as if on cue, her stomach rumbled to her embarrassment. It seemed Ash's stomach did the same, and he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "See?"

"Yep, I see. Lets go get some food!" he chuckled before running towards the city without watching where he was going in the slightest.

"Ash, watch out!" Serena gasped, noticing something that Ash hadn't. But before he could react, he was already tumbling over onto the floor. "N-never mind..." she ran off to help him up. "You alright, you tripped over a poor Nidoran," she pointed at the purple creature on the floor, that soon picked himself up.

"Nido!" the Pokemon looked pretty unhappy, his purple spikes flaring up at the annoyance he had just received from getting tripped over. Nearby, a female Nidoran sat with fear in her eyes as she worried about her friend/boyfriend/brother. Honestly, it was impossible to tell at a first glance.

"Sorry about that, Nidoran," Ash commented, rubbing the back of his head again with awkwardness on his face. He then turned to the blue one nearby, a smile on his face. "Sorry for scaring your brother," he seemed to assume the relationship between the two Nidorans, only to receive looks of horror. "W-what?"

"Ash, I think they are actually mates," Misty pointed out as she walked over to them, this earned her looks of happiness from the two Pokemon who preceded nuzzled each other. "What, how sweet. I know," she clapped her hands together, before pointing at the two friends. "How about you take these Nidorans in. Nidoking can be amazing in battle for you, Ash. And this little girl seems quite docile for you, Serena," she petted the female Nidoran, who purred happily.

"That's actually a good idea," Ash grinned, reaching over to pet the male Nidoran. It looked a little unhappy still with him, but not aggressive anymore. "What about it. Wanna join me, I'm doing the gym challenge and you could be great for battling. And my friend here will take in your mate, so you won't be separated ever again."

"Nido," came the response from the purple Nidoran, before he turned to his girlfriend. "Nido nidoran, nido," he seemed to be talking to her, maybe asking what she thought about the arrangement. After some more conversing, the female Nidoran walked over to Serena and looked her in the eyes with her similarly colored blue eyes. Noticing the closeness, Serena pulled out a ball and tested it. As if on cue, the female Nidoran patted her head into the ball and was absorbed in. The male then followed suit by nudging at Ash's clipped on balls, finding an empty one to be absorbed into.

"Looks like we have two new Pokemon," Ash chuckled, before taking the ball that his Nidoran had just entered and threw it to the ground. "So I see that was a yes, you're going to be a great asset to the team, Nidoran."

Serena simply smiled, as she called out her own Nidoran to the floor. Thinking for a moment, as she petted the poison type's head. "Lets see...how about...Aoi? Do you wanna be known as Aoi from now on, Nidoran?" it took a moment of thinking, before the Nidoran smiled gratefully and nuzzled her. "Aoi, it is," pulling out her pokedex, she looked at Ash. "We should scan these two."

"Yeah," Ash did the same and the two pointed their pokedexs at the two Nidorans. Ash's registered first and began to chant off a little before Serena's began. It was lucky actually, as it allowed them both to hear the data properly.

_Nidoran , the Poison Pin Pokemon. __Nidoran has developed muscles for moving its ears. Thanks to them, the ears can be freely moved in any direction. Even the slightest sound does not escape this Pokémon's notice._

_Type: Poison_

_Ability: Hustle - this ability will improve the power of Nidoran__'s physical strength at the cost of some of his ability to accurately land his moves._

_Gender: Male  
_

_Nature: Adamant_

_Move(s): Peck, Poison Sting, Focus Energy and Sucker Punch (Egg Move. Locked)_

_Nidoran__ , the Poison Pin Pokemon. __Nidoran __has barbs that secrete a powerful poison. They are thought to have developed as protection for this small-bodied Pokémon. When enraged, it releases a horrible toxin from its horn._

_Type: Poison  
_

_Ability: Poison Point - this ability can cause poison to be inflicted on an attacking foe upon contact._

_Gender: Female_

_Nature: Docile  
_

_Move(s): Scratch, Poison Sting, Tail Whip and Charm (Egg Move. Unlocked)_

"Wow, they're both pretty cool. So yours is called Aoi, Serena?" complimented Ash before turning to his friend to question her. As in on reaction, Aoi nodded her head proudly. "That will be helpful until they evolve, allow us to tell them apart easier. Kinda cool that your egg move is already unlocked."

At this, Serena nodded and petted Aoi. "Aoi, girl. Use Charm on Ash, show it off to him," listening instantly, the blue rabbit-like creature sat down and did a cute expression that was hard to resist. Ash found himself drawn and instantly began to pet Aoi before he could stop himself, at least until he realized what he was doing. This caused his beloved friend to giggle. "Looks like she'll be quite the cutie."

"Nido!" the female Nidoran enjoyed the compliment, before looking up at Delta and Etoile with curiosity. It wasn't long before it seemed like they were introducing themselves to each other, though Serena hadn't call out Bubblegum yet.

"Alright. Now that's settled," Misty had a hand on her stomach, clearly hungry like her two friends. "We need to get going, so we can get a room at the Pokemon Center," when her friends nodded in agreement, the group continued walking until they were at the outskirts of the city that had arrived at.

Ash looked around the city before sitting down on a rock. "So, wheres the Pokemon Center?" he asked, clearly confused. "I'm hungry."

"Pika-pikachu," came the agreed response from the rodent that still sat on his shoulder and nodded her head, he looked worn out and hungry. No real surprise considering they hadn't properly eaten since the night prior at the end of the day. He could really do with some food and it seemed that the other Pokemon, besides the new Nidorans, agreed with his thoughts.

"Well, it'd do ME some good if you would get off my merchandise," came a voice from below them and the group looked down to see an old man, with a grey beard and abnormally large hat, looking back at them with annoyance. "The Pokemon Center is just down the road, now would you mind getting off my merchandise?"

Noticing the rock he was sat on had a price tag, Ash did as he was told and scrambled down to the lower level of the rock formation. "Why are you even selling rocks?" he asked, confused by the idea of selling...something that seemed so plentiful. It just seemed so abnormal to him, though the looks of confusion on Misty and Serena's faces confirmed he wasn't the only one confused by this.

"Souvenirs, the rocks that form around Pewter City had a unique texture that isn't present any other rock found in the Kanto Region," the man explained, pointing to the other rocks that were presented on a display case. Prices ranged based on size, smoothness and quality from what the children could tell. The man stood up and picked up a perfectly smooth and large rock. "This one is worth 4000 poke dollars, its in great condition. You willin' to pay?"

"N-no thanks," the trio said in unison, not wanting the stone at all. Petting her Budew calmly, Serena decided to be polite. "Merci for the suggestion, but we wish to get going to the Pokemon Center now, good sir. So we bid you adieu," this indeed surprised her friends a bit, and the Pokemon. But they knew she could be polite just based on how mature she was.

"Good bye, little lady," the man nodded, before letting them leave to head down to the nearby city. "May the best of luck be with you on your journey."

"Sayonara," Serena said, before he left their sight, in her native language with little worry about whether anyone would understand her as 'sayonara' was quite a well known, almost universal word to most individuals.

"Whoa, Serena," Misty commented, with an impressed face and voice. "Where'd you learn how to be that polite and regal?"

"I was born in Kalos, Misty. Kinda comes with the heritage, a lot of Kalosian people are naturally polite and soft-spoken," the girl responded with a smile on her face, she definitely loved her own region even though she didn't want to go back for bad memories. Then, she turned to Misty. "At the end of the day, where'd you think Etoile's name came from?"

"Oh, I see. Its a Kalosian word, isn't it?" the red head questioned, with a returned smile on her own face. After seeing Serena's kind nod, she knew she had to question what the word meant as it was a cool sounding word to the Kantonian girl. Even Ash seemed curious, though most of his posture was going on emphasizing how hungry he was. "What's it mean, you never explained where the name came from?"

"Its Kalosian for star," she indicated towards Etoile's star pendent, with a soft smile. "I spent years adapting to the language you Kantonians use, mom used to always make me practice it as a child...I guess, it came more of a first language now. But I still will always remember the heritage that she gave me...its all I can do to recall her..."

Misty gave her new friend a hug from the side, with a smile on her face. "Good worry, I'm sure she'd be proud of you now. You're so sweet with your Pokemon and you're not letting this," she placed a hand on Serena's face, surprisingly the girl, with until ran across the scar. "Bother you as much."

Whilst they were talking, Ash watched and looked down. He still felt guilty about it. He listened to what Serena had to stay, not getting involved. "Truthfully, it does bother me...quite a bit actually. But I don't want to worry you or Ash, this is my problem to deal with and nobody else's. And..." she looked over at Ash, before walking over. Before she did anything, she placed Etoile on the floor next to Delta and Aoi. Then she wrapped her arms around Ash, happily. "..I'm happy that you care, Ash. Really, I am. But you need not to worry, I'm fine..."

Eventually Ash managed to smile and hugged her back. "Of course I'm going to worry, you're my best friend...why wouldn't I worry?" a blushed smile emerged on Serena's face, even though she knew that it was more the result of Ash's kind nature than anything she really hoped for. "I just want you to be okay."

"And I want you to be safe as well...," she released him from her hug, noticing Misty's smirking face. At that, she knew that Misty would definitely be questioning her about it later. But for now, she could only smile. "Lets get going, I'm sure you wanna train before night fall and we're all pretty hungry."

"Yep," the other two nodded their head and they continued their way to the Pokemon Center. On their way, they passed a Pokemon Mart. Misty thought for a moment, before turning to the other two. There was a subtle smirk that Serena caught before the facial shift, though Ash missed it entirely. "How about I go get us our room and you two can go food shopping for dinner tonight."

There was a grumble emerging in Serena's throat, she knew Misty was only doing this to allow them to have some time alone. Potentially to see if Serena would confess her feelings or something. However, Ash didn't give her the chance to response as he spoke. "That's a good idea! Lets go, Serena," he grabbed his friend's hand, surprising her.

"Have fun, you two...," Misty then lowered her voice and stepped closer to Serena, whispering in her ears. "You could easily confess how you feel and don't deny how you feel, your blushing kinda gives it away."

Serena blushed, but didn't respond as she let Ash dragged her into the mart. Misty waved goodbye to them, before planning to head off. Before she left, Ash called out. "Misty, make sure that me and Serena share a room. Give them the reason that she gets nightmares," when Ash said this, Serena looked down as she hated how she still suffered the nightmares from that event.

"Sure thing, Ash," came the response, as Misty left their vision down the road. The sun was still high in the sky, even with a shopping detour. It wouldn't get involved in their other plans as much. "See you back at the Pokemon Center," she called out.

After she left, the childhood friends entered the mart in silence. At the fact they were alone without Misty, Serena was pretty silent throughout as she was trying not to blush at the awkwardness of being alone with her crush. Of course, she slept in the same bed as him...and everything. But knowing Misty set this up specifically was more embarrassing. Then she heard Ash speak. "So what will we be needing?"

"Just some random food, I suppose...anything that works. Oh and Pokemon Food," Serena scanned the aisle they were in, picking up some tins that she knew she would be able to cook in the Pokemon Center's shared kitchen that the trainers had access to. "Maybe we could also gets some snacks for during training time."

Whilst they were walking through, Serena also spotted some Pokemon healing items and some poke balls on sale. Amongst them were rarer ball types like the luxury ball that improved the rate of friendship with a Pokemon and the dusk ball, giving a higher chance to capture a Pokemon in caves or night time; any dark place really. She put them in the trolley that she had picked up not long ago. In the baby seat was Delta, who seemed pretty excited. Aoi and Etoile had been placed back in their balls for easier movement. "Ash?..." she called out after a while, catching the boy in front's attention.

"Yea, Serena?" he looked pretty curious, his face being shared by Pikachu. Well, until the yellow mouse caught sight of a red condiment. "Ketchup? You want Ketchup, buddy?" he ignored Serena for a moment, though she didn't mind. After Pikachu give a happy nod, he placed a bottle of ketchup in their trolley. "What did you want, Serena?"

"...I wanted to talk about our sleeping arrangements," she shook a little, involuntarily. Noticing his confused face, she chose to explain in red cheeks. "I mean...isn't it odd for a boy and a girl of...our age to share a bed?"

Rubbing the back of his head as he thought about it, he had to admit that his friend was correct about that. However, he quickly developed a smile. "Well. Yea, I guess that's true. However, to me, I just want to help you out. Your nightmares used to scare me, Serena. Whenever you had one, I felt helpless," this caused Serena's face to soften sadly. "But then I discovered that my presence helped out, I was so happy. And then, I just knew I had to always help out. I want to make you feel comfortable, to not suffer like you did before. You're my best friend and I...always want to make you happy."

"...Ohh...Ash..." Serena whispered, happiness in her voice. Before she smiled and nodded. "If that's how you feel...then its completely fine, I...w-want to share a bed with you," she looked still embarrassed, but not in the same way as before. It wasn't as potent, more smothered by her happiness that her friend was looking out for her. "...Besides, I'm pretty certain if you didn't sleep with me...t-that I would bother people. I don't want to be a burden."

"You were never a burden, Serena," came the response that surprised her a little. "You're just a normal girl...well, as normal as you can be after witnessing what you did. But it doesn't make you any less of a human. I'm sure that Delta agrees with me, she sees you as nice and motherly. Ain't that right, Delta?"

"Char-mander!" came the response from the little Pokemon, wiggling a little in the baby seat as she reached up to hug her trainer's arm. This brought a smile to Serena's face, as she pet the little fire type. "Charr..." the little creature whispered, pleasured by the petting.

"How do you think your gym battle will go?" she chose to change the subject, as they moved through the Pokemon aisle. Spotting a few random trinkets, like an electric proof collar for those that wanted to give electric types as pets and not worry about the electricity as much and play toys or training equipment. Something caught her eye though, a Pokemon ribbon. Picking it up, she held it next to Delta's neck for a moment as she waited for Ash to answer.

"Honestly, I think its fair game currently. If I give him some experience, Nidoran could use Double Kick to help me out. And maybe I'll be able to teach Pikachu," he petted the electric rodent as he said his name. "Iron Tail," he looked at his waist where his 4 poke balls rested, one adorning the lightning bolt to signify Pikachu's empty ball. "I'm a little worry about using Butterfree. He only just evolved, and bug/flying is horribly weak to rock types. I don't want him getting hurt. But if I need to, Pidgeotto should be fine with I could potentially unlocked Steel Wing."

Nodding her head, Serena finished testing with the red ribbon and tied it around Delta's neck in a bow-like shape. "Yep, looks good..." she removed the ribbon and placed it in the trolley with the other stuff for it to be paid for. "Do you think we got everything?" she looked into the trolley, there was quite a few food ingredients now for making food. Then she thought. "Stay here with the trolley, I'll be right back," she ran off and soon came back with a box in hand. The box's label revealed it to be a outdoor grill. "Its for when we're travelling, if we need to eat dinner whilst we're camping."

"Where will we store it though?" Ash asked, confused as she placed it into the trolley.

"It can be taken apart, when we get back to the Pokemon Center. I'll sort it out and put it all in the bag," came the response, before she pushed the trolley towards the checkout. As she handled paying for the food, Ash looked at many of the posters that scattered near the Poke Mart's checkout and was surprised by one of them. Calling Serena over, he pointed at it. "Hmm, Pokemon contest? I've heard of these, they analyze a Pokemon's style and condition instead of full-on battles."

"Yeah, maybe you could look into it," Ash stated, knowing his friend didn't have a dream currently. "See, the first contest is taking place is Cerulean City in about 2 weeks. We should have more than enough time, its only past Mt Moon."

Upon hearing this, Serena looked at Delta for a moment. The Charmander was looking at the poster with interest as it showed a coordinator with a Roselia, showing off the Roselia's appeal with a beautiful Leaf Storm. After a moment, Delta bounced up and began to cry out. "Char charmander char mander!"

"Delta?" Serena looked confused as she stared at her crying Pokemon, for a moment she wished she could understand the critter. And then...she wasn't sure what, or how to explain it. But she just felt it. She knew what Charmander wanted. "You want to take part in the contests, don't you?"

"Mander," came a nod of the head, the little fire type clearly interested in the idea. Maybe she wanted to preform, or maybe it was the beauty of it. Serena couldn't tell, but she was happy that the decision wasn't only hers to make.

"I'll think about it, girl. Still a little while to go before we make it to Cerulean City," payments had finished by this point, with Serena being handed a few full bags. Placing the shopping trolley back, she and Ash began work on carrying the bags to the Pokemon Center. There was silence for a bit, until Serena chose to break it. "...W-what would you say if I said I wanted to do the contests?...To be a coordinator?" came her sudden question.

"Hmm," Ash thought for a moment, thinking back to the poster that he had seen. "I think it would suit you, Serena. You're cute and good at dancing, we both know this. And all your Pokemon don't really engage in fighting and neither do you. Whilst contests have battles, its more to do with style and appeal over damage. Something that I think suits you."

A hue of a blush appeared on Serena's upper-lip at being called cute. After finding her voice, she knew she had to ask about it. "Y-you...t-think I'm cute?"

Upon hearing this, Ash stopped and also blushed upon realization of what he had said. He had called his best friend cute, was that normal? Was that something best friends did?...Or was he wanting something more. Arceus, what this confusion. And he didn't know how to feel. But he knew what he had to say. "Because you are cute, Serena."

The blush on Serena's face only darkened, before she looked down awkwardly. "..W-what w-would y-you say if I..." by this point, her face was scarlet and darker than the ripest apples in summer. "d-did...this..." she walked back towards Ash and without thinking, placed a kiss on his lips. Maybe it was too soon, but for her...it felt like an eternity of waiting to be able to do such. It had been years since Ash had saved her during the summer camp...the day this crush developed after all, and they had only grown closer since.

Before giving him a chance to return the kiss, she pulled away with a sad smile. "...You don't have to answer right away...I just needed to do that," she then began to walk faster, if only to keep a distance from the shell-shocked boy. They would talk about this later, she decided. Right now, she was too emotional to think straight. Not to mention, she didn't wanna give Misty anymore ideas for how she could set them up. Serena already expected that the red head would probably lock them in a cupboard together until they confessed, it seemed likely at least.

Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind her. It wasn't Ash, but rather. "Pichuka," it was a combination of sounds that she hadn't heard Pikachu say before, so it was confusing at the start. But it seemed Pikachu got her confusion, and then pointed at her before repeating his combination of syllables. "Pichuka!"

"I'm 'pichuka'?" she asked, still a little confused by what the electric rodent wanted if that was the case.

Hearing this, Pikachu nodded his head. Turning around, Ash was still a distance away from there in still some shock. "Pichuka, pika pika chu chaka. Chaa!" he seemed to yell something out, something that she wasn't show what. Her face filled with confusion, what did Pikachu want to tell her. What was he trying to communicate. Then she remembered how she tapped into Delta's thoughts and focused. In an instance, she could understand what Pikachu wanted.

"Y-you're telling me to properly confess..." she whispered, this was no sense of confusion in her voice. Even though she still didn't understand how she could figure out what Pikachu wanted. "I t-told him that I w-wanted to give him time though...I'm scared he might reject me..." this caused the electric rodent to sigh as if he knew something she didn't. "W-what?"

"Chupi cha chuu chu pika," he yelled out, waving his paws as Ash seemed to finally registered what had happened. Upon hearing the mixture of words, Serena gave a sigh and walked back over to Ash with an awkward look on her face.

"Serena...you just?" came Ash's equally awkward response, as even though he had figured out what had happened. It didn't solve why.

"...Yeah...I kissed you, Ash," she confirmed, a little embarrassed to say it. "E-ever since that day you helped me during the camp...I've felt attracted to you, I wanted to be with you...always. Then you helped me so much since...I began feeling that you wouldn't ever like me...someone, who can't sleep at night with nightmares...or won't battle like you. I felt...inadequate to what I always felt you wanted..." before she was able to continue, lips pressed against hers.

She stood there, eyes widened in shock that Ash had initiated a kiss against her. Nearby, Delta and Pikachu looked quite excited by the news. That was when Serena knew this was real and closed her eyes, accepting the kiss to return as she wrapped her arms around Ash's back. Tears leaked from her eyes, she still didn't believe she was worthy of Ash's attention...but she was happy nonetheless.

After they separated, both of them looked a little dazed. But Ash smiled after a moment. "I guess its my fault for never noticing, you always did look at me with a blush on your face...didn't you?" this caused another one to form on Serena's face, causing Ash to chuckle lightly. "...I didn't know how I felt, but after registering and hearing what you said. I realized that I do like you in return, your sweet and adorable. So kind to your Pokemon as well as mine. It seemed almost like it was perfect."

"Ash...I..."

"No, don't worry about not feeling worthy. I'll prove to you that you are more than worthy of being with me," he smiled sweetly, before hugging her again. "Plus...this would make that whole sharing bed thing less awkward. Don't cha think?" he laughed, happily. Pikachu and Delta cheered after hearing this, very happy for their trainers from what both of them to tell. Then Ash seemed to remember something. "Why did you come back, you said you were going to give me time. Or did I imagine that part?"

"...No I did...but," she looked down at the electric rodent that sat on the floor next to them with a smile. After a moment, she looked back up and happily stated. "Your little friend convinced me otherwise," the look into each other's eyes only seemed to draw both of them in more. But, Serena knew they had to talk instead of kiss. "...I'm not sure how, but I just knew that he wanted me to tell you how I felt. It was a little strange, but I knew that I needed to after hearing it. S-so, um...d-does this make us...partners now? You know...like our Nidorans?"

A grin worked its way on Ash's face. "Yep, I believe it does," with that stated, the two pulled each other into another hug and then a kiss that felt as good as the last two. After parting, Ash recalled how they had someone waiting for them at the Pokemon Center. "Crap, we should we going. Misty will be wondering why we're taking so long..."

"Honestly..." Serena whispered, intending for Ash to not hear. "I doubt that's the case..."

Of course he did here and turned back with a look of confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh...um..." Serena blushed, not wanting to get her friend in trouble really. "...Um...s-she...uh, the r-reason s-she told us to do the s-shopping trip...w-was to give us some a-alone time," she looked so awkward as she tried to explain, stuttering and all. This only caused Pikachu to slap his forehead, exasperated by the stuttering already. "...I-in hopes that I w-would do w-what I just did..."

"Wait, how did she know about your crush?" he looked confused when he heard this.

"...L-lets just s-say that apparently I'm...n-not really hiding it...," Serena blushed, as they finally arrived at the Pokemon Center. "Lets just get inside and ask Nurse Joy for our rooms...or see if Misty's around," as they entered, it was still pretty awkward with the knowledge that Misty had set this to happen.

Speaking of the red head, she was in the reception room and waiting for them. "Oh, good. You're here now," she waved them over to the desk. "See, they won't listen to me about your room arrangement, they needed to hear it from yourselves."

The nurse nodded, her pink hair shaking a little as she did so. "Yes, unfortunately. But at the very least, you are present. This girl requested for you two to share a bed, were you aware of this arrangement?"

"Yes," Ash responded, taking Serena's hand into his own. Misty noticed this and smirked, which caused Serena to look away in frustration. "See, she's my girlfriend and suffers from nightmares due to a traumatic event. If I'm not there, there's a chance that she'll wake up everyone," well, the cat's out of the bag now.

"I see, then it is alright. Just be sure to not bother any of the other occupants," the nurse smiled as she handed them their keys. "Now, do you two have any Pokemon that you wish to be healed whilst you're here?"

Both of the two nodded, handing over their Pokemon. Before Serena handed hers, she recalled Delta into her flamed-marked ball. However, Ash knew better as he stated. "My Pikachu doesn't like entering a poke ball, so be cautious with him," as he pulled the electric rodent from the floor onto the desk.

"Alright, they should be healed soon. I'll let you know when they're ready to be picked up," Nurse Joy smiled, before taking the Poke Balls into the back room for healing and leaving the 3 alone.

"So. Girlfriend, huh?" Misty started instantly, curling herself in front of Ash with a sneaky expression on her face. Definitely curious like a snake. "When did this happen?"

Both of the two blushed a bit, but never let go of each other's hand. Eventually Serena found her voice and explained everything. As they spoke, they went to sit on some seats nearby for their discussion so they weren't blocking the desk. "So, essentially. You gave up on waiting," Misty looked at Serena, before shifting her vision to the boy of the group. "And kissed him, then confessed your feelings?"

"Pretty much," Ash nodded. Both of them had left out the part with Serena seemingly being able to understand Pikachu, that wasn't something they were comfortable explaining even to themselves. Let alone to someone else. At least not until they knew more about it. "Thats all there really was to it."

"I see," Misty then smiled, even though she could tell that it was definitely not all of the story that they had shared. "Well, good for you both. I mean, you've know each other for years now. It was bound to happen, especially with Serena's glaring crush on you."

After that, Nurse Joy walked out of the back room with the poke balls and Pikachu. Noticing this, the group went over to collect their Pokemon. Almost instantly, Ash released all 3 of his other Pokemon to the ground. Whilst he did this, Serena released Delta from her ball. "Alright, team!" came Ash's call. "We're going to do some training now."

"Oh, if your going to train. There's a battle arena just outside, perfect for beginning trainers to practice at," Nurse Joy commented upon hearing what Ash said. This brought a smile to the boy and his Pokemon.

Heading outside with his Pokemon, he knew that it would take some training to get Nidoran ready to be the 2nd member of his gym battle. But he wanted to focus on everyone to make sure they were ready for anything. Serena and Misty followed shortly after. Once they were outside, Serena found a nearby bench to sit out with Delta. Once she was comfortable, she let out her 4 Pokemon. All 4 of them seemed pretty curious as to what was going on. "Ash is going to do some training, so I thought we would watch," she said, as she wrapped the red ribbon that she had brought around Delta's neck. Noticing that Nidoran seemed curious. "Don't worry, Aoi. I'll get a accessory for you soon."

"Alright, Ash. Who you training first?" Misty asked, as she released Staryu and Starmie behind her. She knew better than to release Goldeen when there wasn't water present. "I can help you train," she explained after she released the two Pokemon.

"I appreciate the offer, Misty...but. Water types aren't the same as rock/ground types, it wouldn't be as easy to see that I'm ready by practicing on yours."

"May I be of assistance then?" came a voice from nearby, they turned to see the man that was selling rocks earlier. "You see, I train rock/ground types like Brock does. I figured that I could potentially help you out. I'm not as skilled as he is, of course. But its a good practice, don't you think?"

"Would you really help, mister?" Ash asked, quite surprised by the sudden offer. When this conversation began, Misty had walked over to sit with Serena with curious eyes.

"Yep, I can certainly," the man released 2 Pokemon from their balls. Once they fully materialized, a scream was heard from nearby. Everyone turned to see Serena with a pale face, staring at the Rhyhorn that the man had just released from its ball. Whilst everyone else knew what was going on, the man certainly did and looked concerned for the girl's well being. "Oh my...what's going on?"

Misty took the initiative as she remembered what her honey blonde friend had told her about her mother, and helped her up. "Ash, continue your practice. I'm going to take Serena inside so she can calm down.

Even though Ash was concerned for his new girlfriend, he knew she was in capable hands and turned to the man. "Alright, sorry about that. See, Serena's scared of Rhyhorn as a result of a past trauma."

"I see. I wouldn't have taken him out of his ball if I had known, I'm sorry about that," the man apologized in return. "However, do you wish to be with her or are you going to continue this like that red head asked?"

"I will continue. I need to practice for my battle against Brock...Serena, she's a strong girl. She'll be fine without me by her side, and I'm sure she understands. And he couldn't be closer to the truth if he tried.

As with Serena in the hallway, she still looked pale and sickly. But her only words was. "I...hope Ash's training goes well. It's not his fault..."

"I know, sweetie," Misty said, trying to be comforting as she took the girl to her room. It was a quiet and small room, with a large double bed in the center. Helping Serena into said bed was quite easy, as she laid the surprisingly light girl down. "Just calm down and relax. Ash will be alright, but you need to relax your nerves."

"...I will...thanks, Misty..."

Back with Ash, he was staring at Rhyhorn and the other Pokemon that was a Graveler with thoughts running through his brain. "Mister. Will this be a two v two battle, or?"

"Just one v one if that's what you prefer. Rhyhorn, come back for a bit," he indicated for the rhino-like Pokemon to come stand by his side. "Alright, Graveler. Lets test out this boy and his friends."

"Alright," Ash turned to his partners, thinking. "Alright best bet for training. Nidoran!" he called, the purple rabbit ran forward to stand opposite the Graveler. He looked pretty prepared to win already, despite the disadvantage his poison type had against ground.

"Alright, little man. I'll give you the first move."

"Alright. Nidoran. Use Focus Energy!" as soon as he said those words, Nidoran's body began to glow as he charged up energy to increase his potential for doing more damage.

"Graveler, use Harden!" the Graveler's body also lit up, glowing with the increased hardness to its already rocky shell.

"Nidoran, use Peck!" Ash called, instantly. Upon hearing this, the Poison Pin Pokemon charged forward with his teeth aglow. Lunging upwards at high speeds, he charged down and pecks his hardened teeth on the shell of the Graveler. Being a flying based move, it hardly did any damage and that wasn't great. But it was perfect for experience. "Now use Poison Sting!"

After landing back on the ground, Nidoran opened his mouth and spat out needles of poisonous energy at the Graveler. "Graveler, use Rollout!" the Graveler curled himself and curled towards the tiny Nidoran, who was barely able to dodge the first one. However Graveler was still curled up and already charging another.

Panting as he leaped to dodge the second one, Nidoran looked pretty annoyed already as his feet began to glow. Slamming his foot down on the Graveler, before twisting around to do it again. After the second one connected, he leaped back and landed in front of Ash with a lot of panting as the Pokedex turned on.

_Nidoran has learned Double Kick, replacing Peck in his moveset._

"Good job, Nidoran!" Ash smiled, causing the Nidoran to turn around and leap into his arms with happiness. "This will come in so many handy against Brock. Fighting types beat rock types, after all."

"Good work, little man," the old man nodded his head, pleased. "So since Nidoran has learned double kick, who do you wish to train next?"

"Pikachu, you ready?"

"Pikachu-pika!" came the response, Pikachu looked very happy to be able to fight. Lunging forward, he grinned at the Rhyhorn that the old man indicated to go forward. He was ready for this, no doubt.

"Alright. An Electric type! Rhyhorn, use Rock Blast!"

"Hit it back with your tail!"

As the rock began to form from Rhyhorn's body to be touched at Pikachu, the electric rodent leaped around and swung his tail onto them. It hurt so much, the pain in his eyes were clear. But every rock blast that hit, his tail only seemed to strengthen. Until one of the rock blasts was seen hurdling back towards Rhyhorn. When this had occurred, Pikachu's tail seemed to shimmer.

"Rock Blast again!"

Another herd of rocks were throw towards Pikachu, who continued to whack at them with his tail. Every single one were hurdled back, as Pikachu's tail only seemed to glimmer more and more until a full gray gleam was seen. "Iron Tail!" Ash gasped with excitement, as his pokedex read it in confirmation and revealed Pikachu had replaced Growl. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"

Pikachu nodded his head, leaping into the air and focused that metallic energy that had slammed into the rocks onto his tail again. Doing a flip in the air, he came hurdling down towards Rhyhorn. Only for the energy to fade last second, causing him to slam his tail into only pain. "What happened?" Ash gasped.

"It would appear as though, PIkachu hasn't mastered the energy to maintain Iron Tail just yet. It will take more practice, little man."

"Well, bring it on then. We want more practice," Ash yelled, a response from Pikachu confirmed his wishes as well despite his bruised tail.

* * *

The next day, Ash felt more prepared. Whilst Pikachu still hadn't mastered Iron Tail, it was all he could do as the group stood outside of the Pewter Gym. It had been a rough night, however. As when Ash returned to the room, Serena still looked pretty freaked out. Then he was woken up in the night to her screaming.

It hurt hearing her scream, but he knew he needed to calm her down. Calm her down was exactly what he had done and now, in the daylight, she looked much more calm then she had the night prior. Which Ash decided was a good thing and after breakfast, they headed towards the gym. Where they were presently.

Taking a deep breathe, Ash pushed the door open and they all entered. It was dark inside the gym, with little ways to tell. "New challengers?" a male voice was heard, as spotlight switched on on the other side of the gym. The voice was revealed to belong to a spiky haired male with squinted eyes, sat on a rock formation. He looked calm, patient and prepared.

"Just one, I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town" Ash responded. Whilst he said that, Misty and Serena noticed a nearby balcony and the way up. They assumed it was the viewing area and walked up. "So your the gym leader, correct?"

"Brock Harrison's the name, and rock type's are what I will use against you in our match," came the confirmation from the older teen. A battlefield formed before Ash from two chunks of rocky surface. A pure rock-type concept, rock arena and everything. "This will be a 2 on 2 battle. Please send out your first Pokemon."

"Alright. I choose you, Nidoran!" he called, throwing out the purple rabbit-like creature onto the rocky surface. The moment he materialized, the Nidoran looked prepared and adamant about winning this match.

"Nidoran," came Brock's murmur upon seeing the Pokemon that Ash had thrown out. "A poison type Pokemon, weak to my ground types," he noted before throwing out his own Pokemon in preparation as well. "Go, Geodude."

The rock like creature with arms appeared opposite Nidoran, both Pokemon looked prepared for the battle to begin. Standing next to the field was an official referee, holding flags and everything. He analyzed the field, before making the call. "The gym battle versus Brock Harrison, the leader, and Ash Ketchum, the challenge, shall begin...Now!"

As soon as the call was stated, Ash knew he needed to fix fast. "Nidoran, use Focus Energy!" he called straight away, not giving room for thought. Honestly, his blood was pumping fast and giving him too much of a headache to truly think straight. He was excited, excited for his first ever gym battle. Was this how it was for everyone during their first match, 'cause it seemed so right. Exciting, adrenaline pumping and thrilling.

"Geodude, Rock Throw!" came Brock's quick response, before his Pokemon grabbed a boulder from around the arena and hurled it towards Ash's Nidoran, who was still charging up the focus energy. Just as the light faded, Nidoran noticed, even though Ash had called for a dodge, and wasn't able to dodge fast enough.

"Nidoran, you alright!" Ash gasped, seeing Nidoran in pain on the field. Hobbling up, the poison type seemed to be in pain. However, he was still holding his ground. Upon seeing his Pokemon's determination, Ash made his command clear. "Use Double Kick!"

Brock didn't look too surprised by the use of the fighting type move, as if anticipating it. "Geodude, use Harden!" came his voice. As Nidoran flew down and began smacking his feet into the Rock Pokemon, the shell hardened and resulted in less damage whenever focus energy didn't come into play. It was make this more of a hassle, but it seemed like the Geodude had already be damaged a lot.

"Use Poison Sting!" Ash yelled, making his command. He had to be fast, keep up the pressure as much as possible.

"Use Rock Throw!"

The two attacks collided, but Nidoran had summoned more than one needle and was able to cut through the rocks and still collide with Geodude's body. The sting stuck there for a moment, before Geodude seemed to go purple in the face. Brock's eyes widened in horror at the realization of what had happened. "Poison," and the damage from the poison after the realization was enough to faint Geodude. "Return Geodude. I'll be sure to heal you soon. Well, Ash. I hadn't expected that. You proved me quite wrong."

This brought a smile to Ash's face, knowing that Nidoran had done his best. "Alright, Nidoran. Return," he pulled out the ball and a flash of red light absorbed the poison type back into it. "Alright, Pikachu. You ready?"

"A Pikachu?" Brock seemed very surprised to see the electric rodent jump onto the field. '_That Pikachu is still in its middle stage and is so small, how are you intending to win,_' he thought, but knew best not to verbalize the result to not sound rude. Instead he grabbed his second poke ball and hurled it onto the field, bursting it open to reveal the giant rock snake that was Onix. The rock snake tower over Pikachu, who looked stunned to see it.

"Pika!" the Pikachu gasped, shocked to see the gigantic, from his perspective, Pokemon. It was definitely a sight to behold, one that was quite terrifying for the seemingly tiny Pokemon in comparison.

"Don't be frightened, Pikachu!" Ash called, getting the Pokemon's attention. Pikachu's black-tipped elongated ears twitched as he listened to Ash's words. "Remember our training, don't be scared. You know what we gotta do!"

"Onix, use Wrap!"

"Pikachu, prevent it with Thunder Shock!"

To say Brock was confused would be an understatement, but he didn't tell Onix to stop charging forward. Pikachu just seemed to laugh to himself in his own language before figuring a Thunder Shock from his sacs. No damage was done, but the brunt of the attack prevented Onix from moving forward. "Now use Iron Tail!"

Pikachu jumped into the air and twisted before throwing himself downwards again. Just before he hit Onix, he set his tail into a metallic state. During the training, he and Ash had decided to activate Iron Tail closer to the contact point so the energy didn't fade before the contact was made. Iron Tail slammed into Onix's hard body, throwing it backwards. "Iron Tail again, Pikachu!"

"Pi-ka!" the nodded response came, with Pikachu twisting himself to slam his metallic tail into Onix again before he hit the ground. The brunt of the attack set Onix flying into the wall to the side of the field. Brock looked shocked by the extent, but Onix was still going. His defenses were still very high.

"Onix, use Rock Tomb!" Onix charged back onto the field, hitting the ground heavily with enough power to cause rocks to jut out of the field. Enough rocks to create a cage-like structure around Pikachu. Twisting his body, Onix threw a last rock on top of Pikachu to finish the trap that now encased the rodent.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled, knowing that his partner was in trouble. What could he do, what could help Pikachu out in this situation. Would Pikachu even hear him, panic rose in his thoughts as he looked at the trap that encased his friend.

However, nothing was to fear it seemed. "Pi-ka-CHUU!" came a loud cry from within the rocks, as electricity built up at an insane rate. More and more power grew, until the energy forced the rocks to scatter. As in on cue to explain what had just happened, the pokedex chimed in with its instructions.

_Pikachu has learned Thunderbolt, replacing Thunder Shock in his moveset._

"Thunderbolt, this early?" Misty gasped from the railings, causing Serena to look at her with a look of shock and confusion. Seeing the expression. "Pikachu normally can't learn that move easily, it takes a lot of training. Yet, Pikachu built that energy up so soon."

"Wow," Serena whispered, holding a fist to her chest before yelling out in her loudest possible voice. "ASH, Pikachu, GOOD LUCK!"

The cry filled Ash with confidence, causing a smirk to form on his face. The same raw confidence filled Pikachu's own body as well, sharing in his trainer's excitement. "This has been fun, Brock. But its time for it to end. Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

Another twist of the body, followed by the metallic tail was enough to slam Onix to the floor. The rock snake shook for a while, before completely kneeling over and fainting. Pikachu panted after landing on the floor, waiting for a moment before realizing what happened. "Pikachu!" he gasped out, jumping into Ash's arms in happiness.

"Good work, Buddy!" Ash patted his beloved partner's head, complimenting him for the victory that they had achieved. He wasn't given long to cheer, as Serena tackled him with a hug. Neither of them fall over, at least, but they remained in their embrace (Much to Pikachu's slight discomfort due to being between them) for a bit. "Thanks for the cheer, Serena. It filled me with a lot of confidence."

"Your welcome..." came the girl's smile, as she let go of Ash. Seeing Pikachu's unhappy face, she chuckled nervously. "Sorry for surprising you, Pikachu. I just wanted to congratulate Ash on his victory."

"Pika."

"That was a great battle, Ash," Brock stated as he walked over the field, Onix had been returned to his ball. "Honestly when you sent out your Pikachu, I didn't think you would succeed in beating me. But you indeed surprised me with Iron Tail. And for that, you have respect," he reached into his pocket and handed Ash a badge shaped like a boulder. "That is the Boulder Badge, the proof that you have beat the Pewter City Gym."

Holding the badge in his hand, Ash seemed pretty happy. But he wasn't given chance to react as Brock handed him a case. "This is for holding your badges in," he pointed at the slot for the Boulder Badge. "Here's where your current badge is held."

Around this time, Misty had reached the floor and stared at the badge case silently. Then when Brock noticed her and they held a silent stare at each other for a moment, but nothing verbal was stared. After that, Brock smiled. "I must get going, I need to heal Onix and Geodude. And my family is waiting on my return," with that, he left the room. However, he was shortly followed by Misty. Neither of the other two noticed as Serena was congratulating Ash.

Outside, Misty stood on the step above Brock. "What do you plan to do from now, Brock?" she asked silently, as if knowing he wasn't happy.

"I don't know. I would love to travel the world one day. You remember what I told you at the last gym leader meeting," the young girl nodded her head, silently. "I want to be a breeder, but with my father gone and nobody to take care of my gym or my family. I can't..."

"I see.."

"What about you, how's the gym going? You're quite a distance from Cerulean, being passed Mt Moon and all," he turned, directing his full attention to the red head.

A smile formed on her lips, before a chuckle left. "I wanted to take a break from the gym, left my sisters in charge. They were driving me insane anyway. I meet Ash and Serena on route 1, we have been traveling together since. Its only been a day or 2, but I already feel like I can trust them...but."

"But what?"

"I haven't informed them about my position as gym leader yet...when I get to Cerulean...I'm scared that they'll get mad at me for lying to them..."

"I think the best course of action then, is to just tell them about who you are. I'm sure they won't get mad if you're as close as you say," the teen smiled, before going to Misty's step and bringing the smaller individual into a hug. "You're as indecisive as you were at the last meeting, not much has changed."

"You think?"

"Yep, you're as indecisive as a Metapod deciding when to shed its skin," he released his arms from around her body and smiled at her. "You know I'll support you with whatever you decide, I always have."

"Oh, you big doofus..." Misty chuckled sadly, before looking back at the door. "They'll be coming out soon, you should get going to heal your Pokemon. Sure wouldn't want to worry those siblings of yours."

"That's true...they tend to worry about me a lot," he began to walk away from her towards the Pokemon Center.

"Oh and Brock?" he turned back to her after hearing his name, seeing her with a sad smile plastered on her face. "I hope one day that your father returns so we can travel together like we always wished."

He hated hurting her like he did, he knew that she just wanted them to be together. See, he and Misty had known each other since they were children. And had even done those innocent childish things like say they'll get married in the future, thing is...now they were older...they wanted it to be true. Both of them. But responsibilities had always kept them apart, separated by the giant mountain between their home cities. "So do I..."

With that, they were separated. Misty looked down, but wasn't given any chance to think as the door opened to reveal the two trainers that she had left behind. "Misty?" Serena whispered, noticing the disheartened face on the girl. However, the red head quickly hid her feelings from them.

"We should get going to the Pokemon Center, it would be best to rest up for a bit," she commented, as her voice tried not to crack with the upset over not being able to travel with her boyfriend. It earned a nod, but Serena had internally decided that she would definitely ask her friend about what had happened.

The group headed back to the Pokemon Center, where Ash handed other Pikachu and Nidoran for a quick healing. After getting them back, the group headed to their rooms. However, Serena didn't return to her shared room and instead watched Misty entered hers. "Ash, give me a moment. I need to talk to Misty."

"Something important?" he asked, confused.

"Potentially...," came the response, causing Ash to nod his head and walk into their room. After that, the honey blonde took a deep breathe and walked into Misty's room. She saw the red head curled on the bed, with her face in her knees. "Misty, you alright?"

The voice surprised the red head, who's head shot out of her lap. The fast movement only seemed to make her light headed, as she held her head. Tears leaked on her face, showing how she truly felt. "No...I'm not.."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"...I...I've been partially lying to you and Ash," she whispered to the honey blonde. Instead of answer, Serena just stayed quiet. Misty reached into her butt pocket and pulled out a teardrop shaped badge. "I'm the gym leader of Cerulean City. Specialty: Water..."

"I suspect that's not what's 100% bothering you?"

"...No...you see, I've known Brock for years...he's always been there for me...through thick and thin. Helping me with my phobia and everything. When we were kids, we used to pretend we were married," she sadly laughed at the memories. "...Now, we both want it to be true...but our lives won't allow it. He's so busy with the gym and his family...and he has nobody else to help...I can't be selfish...and ask him to join us...even if I knew he wants to as well."

Noticing her friend's frustrations, Serena pulled the girl into a side hug. "So you and Brock are an item?" she asked, just wanting the confirmation.

"Uh huh...have been for about 2 years now...we kept it a bit of a secret though..."

"Well, from what I can tell...Brock seems to be a sweet teen. He's patient, he just needs to find someone and then I'm sure you'll be together always."

"I know...," after that, Misty sighed and looked at the time on the clock in the room. "You should head back to your own room, its getting late. Plus, I'm getting tired myself. Night, Serena. Sweet dreams..."

"Right...bonne nuit, Misty," came Serena's response in her own language before she left the room, switching the light off for Misty in the process. Walking back to her own room that was adjacent to Misty's, she walked in to see Ash laying on the bed with Pikachu. "Having fun there?"

"Yep, we're discussing potential plans for the next gym," Ash laughed in response, a 'Pika' of confirmation shortly following. Serena smiled, going over to hug him. "We shouldn't stay up much longer. Could get an early start tomorrow. Route 3's a long route, could take us all day to travel apparently."

"Yeah, but there's a Pokemon Center at the base of Mt Moon. So we don't have too much to worry about," Serena's response came as she let go of her boyfriend, however the hug didn't end as when she laid down, Ash's arms wrapped around her like he normally did at night. Yawning, she reached over and turned off the nearby lamp. "...Bonne nuit, Ash..." she whispered, before settling down into the world of sleep.

"Night, Serena," Ash was pretty used to her using Kalosian for a nightly response, as her tired brain usually defaulted her back to her own language without meaning to. However, it didn't take a genius to figure out what she had said. And Ash certainly wasn't a genius. Maybe in battling, but not languages...definitely not languages. After whispering this response, he also fell to sleep with her in his arms. Pikachu curled up on his side, also asleep.

* * *

The next day, the group began to head towards route 3. With Pikachu on Ash's shoulder and Delta in Serena's arms, they seemed more than prepared. Misty had relaxed from the previous day, also informing Ash about her status as gym leader over breakfast. He didn't mind much, accepting it and even confirming that he couldn't wait to battle.

Just as they began to step onto the route, a voice yelled out. "Wait!" they all turned to see Brock behind them, a man walking slowly next to him. It was the same man that had helped Ash prepared. "I...want to travel with you. My father returned, apparently training you made him realize that he wanted to be with his family again and go back to battling."

The look on Misty's face, full of emotions, was enough to make Brock bring her into his arms. "I won't ever leave you again," with that stated, he lifted her throat up and pressed their lips together. Serena looked pretty happy, whilst Ash was stunned as he hadn't heard about this. But after the end, he seemed pretty happy as well to have a new traveling partner. After the two separated their kiss, Brock asked. "I hope that isn't a bother?"

Serena smiled and answered. "No bother here. I want Misty to be happy," seeing the girl still clinging to the girl definitely was a good motivator. "What about you, Ash?"

"Yep, its fine by me. More the merrier."

"Pika!"

With that all settled, the group had expanded from a trio to a group of 4. And they began their journey together onto route 4 on their way past Mt Moon to arrive in Cerulean City for Ash's next gym battle and Serena's potential first contest. What could possibly happen from here?

* * *

Ash's Pokemon  
Pikachu (Male)(Brave)  
Metapod (Male)(Modest)  
Pidgeotto (Female)(Bold)  
Nidoran (Male)(Adamant)

Serena's Pokemon  
Charmander (Female)(Timid) Nickname: Delta  
Shiny Sentret (Female)(Serious) Nickname: Bubblegum  
Budew (Female)(Jolly) Nickname: Etoile  
Nidoran (Female)(Docile) Nickname: Aoi

Misty's Pokemon  
Staryu (Relaxed)  
Starmie (Quiet)  
Goldeen (Female)(Sassy)

Brock's Pokemon  
Geodude (Male)(Hardy)  
Onix (Male)(Quirky)


	6. Clefairy and the Moon Stone

"So, Ash?" came Brock's voice as they walked together. Serena's ears perked up at hearing her boyfriend's name, whilst her fingers remained clenched around her pokedex - said pokedex had a map screen that she was using to navigate. "Did you hear a legend about Mt Moon, it is said that a meteorite hit the mountain in prehistoric times."

"Whoa, really," Ash blinked, a similar reaction being on Serena's and Misty's faces. Then he turned to look at the approaching mountain with a look of amazement on his face, kinda impressed that the mountain survived that. "Meteorite huh."

"Yeah, it was said to contain a trace amount of Moon Stone within the core of the meteorite. Not enough to evolve nearby Pokemon, but enough for it to trigger on touch," the teenager explained to the 3 of them. "From what I've heard, the Clefairy in the mountain worship the stone almost like a god. The stories claim they carry tiny rocks with the tiniest amount of moon stone in them as part of their worship, never evolving due to the limited moon stone amount."

Hearing the Pokemon name, Serena blinked for a moment. She had heard of Clefairy before in her research, so it wasn't that. It was more the thought...that she kinda wanted one. Changing the page on her pokedex to the Clefairy entry, she scanned it. "Maybe I could own one of these Clefairy," she muttered, catching the attention of the others.

After hearing this, Brock shook his head slightly. "I hate to ruin your wishes," the blonde turned to look at him with a confused look on her face, Delta, who was walking at her owner's feet, did the same. "But the Clefairy never leave their habitat, they are drawn to the presence of the Moon Stone from the moment they are born as Cleffa. Any location with traces of Moon Stone, the Clefairy habitat and they rarely leave those locations."

This caused Serena to think for a moment. "Those stones you said, the ones the Clefairy carry. Are they always only trace amounts?" it seemed like she had an idea in her head, but she wasn't going to commit to it without confirmation from the Pokemon itself later on.

"They can have a lot more than a trace, sometimes its the whole rock. However, the Clefairy are never seen with the whole rock as the mere presence of it is enough to make them evolve if they get close and then the rock vanishes," came the response, as they neared the base of the mountain at last. "Are you thinking of finding one of these Moon Stones to potentially lure a Pokemon to come with you?"

"...Not lure really," Serena commented as she thought about it, before looking at her pokedex again. "I was considering finding one and befriending a Clefairy or Cleffa in the mountain. Then if they chose to come with me, I would confirm that I have the means to make them happy. But if they chose not to evolve, that would be fine."

Suddenly Misty gasped, distracting Brock before he could response to Serena. "Look!" the red head continued, pointing at a man in a laboratory outfit. It was smeared with blood and dirt, at least the blood didn't also cover his face unlike the dirt. Surrounding him were many Zubats, that all looked aggressive as they consistently tried to Absorb at his life force. For Serena, it was the sight of the blood smeared coat that was enough to make her go a little pale in the face. At least there wasn't any Rhyhorn around, though.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled, reacting pretty quickly after they saw the Zubats. Nodding his head, the electric rodent jumped forward and began charging. Sparks emerged from his electric sacs, as Ash considered what exactly he needed to do. "Use Thunder Shock, but be careful. Try not to hit the man!"

Using the weakest electric move in his arsenal, Pikachu nodded and directed the electricity the best he could to prevent the man getting hurt as well. Enough energy shot at the ground nearby was enough to share the flying bats away, knowing their weakness. However, before the last of them left, Brock threw a Luxury Ball from their bags and caught the one that didn't leave. Seeing his friends look confused, he explained. "Zubat are known for their sensitive hearing and keen tracking skills. It could come in handy to find hurt Pokemon...," he then looked at them again with a smile. "Or you if we got separated."

"Makes sense," Serena nodded, after calming down a bit from the sight of the blood. Walking over, she looked at the injured man and whispered out. By this point, she had picked Delta up and was hugging her for personal comfort. Not that the Pokemon minded. "Are you alright, mister?"

Dusting himself down a bit, the scientist nodded his head and smiled. "Thanks to your electric friend over there," came his response, before he went over and petted the Pikachu. Before long, he was stroking Pikachu's tail and earning a cute 'chaa' from it. It seemed like he was doing it as a thank you gift to the mouse. "See, most Pikachu love having their tails stroked."

"Whoa. Didn't know that, buddy," Ash smiled as Pikachu jumped back onto his shoulder. Petting the side of the electric mouse's face, he grinned. "Maybe I should give it a go sometimes, think that'd be nice for ya?"

"Pika, Pikapi," this caused Serena to turn back towards them for a moment, her awkward expressing telling Ash that she knew exactly what the Pikachu had said without needing to translate the awkward words. But neither of them explained the strange look to their friends, as they felt awkward themselves. Noticing Serena's worried face, Pikachu asked. "Pikachu Pika pichuka?"

"I'm fine, Pikachu," Serena whispered quietly, still a little freaked out by her sudden ability to understand Pokemon that seemed to come and go, so only Ash and Pikachu heard. Then she picked her voice back up, turning to the scientist once more. "So what are you doing all the way out here? And why were those Zubat attacking you?"

After a moment, the man sighed before looking at the entrance to the Mt Moon tunnel. "The Zubat didn't mean to attack me, they were scared. Protecting their homes, cause people keep invading their home and destroying it. All I want to do is help them out, remove the horrid acts people have done. Come on, I will show you."

The group nodded their heads and followed the man into the cave, it was brightly lit with many lights hung around the caves. It was almost too bright with nearly no Pokemon around, besides the occasional Paras that had emerged to go gather food from the outside. All the Zubat remained in the slightly darker tunnels, afraid of the light. "The lights are effecting the ecosystem of the Pokemon within. People put them up in an cruel effect to find the large Moon Stone that the Pokemon have kept hidden away for centuries."

"Who could be doing this?" Ash asked, looking concerned when he saw a few Sandshrew that looked physical drained and exhausted. Could they not sleep with the bright lights? "The poor Pokemon..."

"I honestly don't know, I discovered these lights only recently. But the effects have already been quite disastrous," that's when the man's face twisted for a moment as he remembered something important. "I forgot to tell you my name, didn't I. I'm Seymour, a scientist that works in the Pewter City Museum. Its my job to protect the fossils and stones found within Mt Moon, so no harm can be caused."

"But some harm has been done, right?" Serena asked as she held Delta close her her chest with a look of concern on her face. Looking around, she saw Paras planting Mushrooms they had grown from their body long before they were ready and the scared Zubat. "After all, this light is effecting all of these dark-dwelling Pokemon."

"Correct, its a heavy impact. As I began taking down the lights, more just keep being put up and even some of the dark tunnels have started to be filled. It won't be long before every location in the Mt Moon caves are bright and the Pokemon will not be able to survive," there was a look of upset on the man's face, causing Serena to agree with him. This is cruel to the poor Pokemon, their way of life was being drastically changed.

Suddenly, a loud voice caught their attention and they turned to see a Clefairy bouncing with a small piece of Moon Stone in its paws. Clearly it had very low percentage as it wasn't reacting with the Clefairy's make-up to trigger the evolution. Behind the Clefairy was a tiny Cleffa, likely a newborn that looked worried as it bounced after the middle-stage Pokemon. There was no moon stone shard in the little one's hand, but it clearly looked like it was attracted to the one in the Clefairy's hands.

Being the sweet one of the team, Serena cautiously approached the potentially wary Pokemon and whispered. "Sorry about the lights, little ones. We will try and take them down as soon as possible," after a moment, the two Pokemon gave a toothy smile and bounced to sit beside her. Well, the Clefairy sat beside her and the Cleffa chose to sit on her lap with Delta. The fire type seemed happy enough, as she patted the baby with her paw. Everyone else, including Seymour, was impressed by how trusting the Pokemon were of the girl. However, Serena didn't notice this and turned to the Clefairy. "So you're alright with us being here?"

"Clefairy clefairy clef," came the nodded response, which Serena internally took a moment as she realized her ability hadn't faded yet. Maybe it was getting stronger as she realized that she was understanding Pokemon. "_Yep, we're completely fine. We know that not all humans are bad creatures. We just want our kind to be happy with the Moon Stone._"

"Cleffa ffa clef," the little baby agreed, enjoying the pets that she was receiving from Delta. As she looked up at Serena, who's face was still mixed with confusion over her apparently formerly latent ability to understand Pokemon. But there was a smile there was well, glad to know that the Pokemon weren't hostile or afraid. "_Big sissy right, woo nice. Very nice!_"

"Serena?" Misty asked, noticing that her friend just seemed to be listening to the Pokemon without focus on the world around. The voice caught her friend's attention, who looked a little freaked out. "Are you okay, you just been sat there and Cleffa and Clefairy at silence for a little while now...with only them making their noises."

"I'm quite alright," Serena commented as she stood up. Making sure her grip was secure around both Delta and Cleffa, she looked down. "...I think the Clefairy are fine with us being here," she whispered as she tried not to reveal her ability just yet. It was still pretty scary to her and she wouldn't even know if they would take it. Then she heard enough cry from Clefairy, that her brain translated as a 'yep'.

Without needing to consider it, Misty knew something else was linking to the situation. But she chose to wait to ask later. Suddenly, the Clefairy's ears twitched a little and she bounced off to investigate something. Cleffa, looking worried for her, hopped from Serena's arms and followed after with concern. After a while, a strangled cry of pain was heard and Serena's eyes widened with horror. "Guys, we gotta go find them!"

Not needing to be told twice, the group followed Serena until she found the terrified Clefairy protecting her little sister. Upon seeing Serena, Cleffa ran behind her in fear to get even further from the threat. Looking before them, the group saw a Koffing and Ekans. Two poison types, no wonder the fairies were scared. "Go, Etoile!" Serena suddenly yelled, surprising everyone as she let out her Budew from the ball. "Use Extrasensory. Pin them in place!"

Psychic energy built up in the cute rose bud's body, until she released it. The release wrapped the poison types in psychic energy and levitated them in the air. As she did this, Etoile's eyes glowed blue. "Where do we know these po..." Ash wondered, before a horrified look appeared on his face. "Team Rocket, of course it'd be them!" Misty and Serena looked at him, both sharing the same response. Whilst Brock looked a little confused, not knowing who team rocket were.

"Of course, of course, the flower bud knows a psychic type move. How did we forget dat," came a voice from nearby to them and everyone turned to see a very annoyed Meowth walking on his hind-paws towards the poison types. "Useress things. We sent ya to get rid of the Clefairy, not be caught by a rose bud's Extrasensory."

"Ash...please tell me I'm hearing things. Did that Meowth just talk?" Brock asked, looking at the Scratch Cat Pokemon with confusion. Same could be said for Meowth, who recognized the other two children with the Pikachu's boy. But not the clearly older teenager.

"Nope. That's Team Rocket's Meowth," Ash responded, looking frustrated as he glared at the talking Meowth. Like normal, Pikachu emulated his trainer's opinion and growled out a loud 'Pika' in annoyance. "All they do is steal Pokemon and cause trouble for everyone."

"Trouble?" was that word an excuse, Ash wondered as he glared at the two older individuals as they walked over to meet their partners. Jessie's smirk told him what he knew, that he had just walked into the opportunity to let them make a grand entrance.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now or prepare to fight."

In the last second, Meowth jumped back to complete the pose with his teammates with his seemingly usual line of. "Meowth, dat's right!" after that, the Scratch Cat Pokemon looked at them with as much annoyance as they were giving Team Rocket. "Now hand over the Clefairy and the Moon Stone!"

"No way!" Serena yelled, as Etoile seemed to respond by hurling the poison types in her grip towards the Team Rocket members. The group grumbled in pain, as Serena looked pretty frustrated and furious at them. "All you're doing here is harming these poor Pokemon's lives, they need darkness to survive. And you're just hanging up lights for your own game, aren't you?"

It seemed like Team Rocket didn't care, as Jessie especially growled as she stood up. "Ekans, use Poison Sting on that puny weed that was causing you pain. MAKE IT FEEL YOUR VENGENCE," the snake responded instantly, hurling pins of poisonous energy towards the baby Budew without a care of remorse.

When Serena saw this, her eyes widened in horror. "ETOILE!" came her yell of worry, she didn't want Etoile get hurt and instantly protected her by curling her own body around the grass type for complete protection. A poisonous sting hit her shoulder and embedded a bit, but that was it from what it seemed.

Weakly, Serena stood up with a stumble and held Etoile close to her. Both of her currently released Pokemon looked up at her worried as she looked behind her with a knowing look that told what to do as she called out. "Ash!" during her yell, Meowth seemed to slip away from the ground, holding his head in pain from where Koffing had been slammed into him.

"Right! Go, Butterfree!" Ash yelled, hurling out his own Pokemon. "Use Gust. Blow them away and out of the caves!" winds picked up at high speeds as Butterfree began the attack, smacking into the Pokemon and sending them hurling out of the cave entrance before anyone could react faster.

However, that was when Serena fell against the wall in clear pain from the sting that was embedded. Noticing this, Ash ran over and yanked the Poison Sting out. However, it had already done its job, poison was already in her system. But before Ash could worry, Cleffa suddenly yelled out. "Clef-fa!" and a swirl of grass leafy energy wrapped around them, before circling Serena and healing her. After that, the little one clapped her hands together before releasing them with a healing pulse that removed the final piece of weakness from Serena's body.

"Cleffa...did you?..." she whispered, after pulling herself into an upright position. Without needing Cleffa to respond, she walked over and petted the head of the fairy type Pokemon with a smile. "Nice job with the Aromatherapy and Heal Pulse there...that helped a lot, thank you so much."

"Cleffa clef!" as the Pokemon bounced up and down, Serena felt warm as her ability trickled back to her and she heard the Cleffa's thoughts as clear as day. "_Me want come with! Help woo and Bubu!_" It took a little while for Serena to realize what the baby Cleffa had stated, but after translating 'Bubu' to 'Budew'...it came obvious.

"Really..." Serena then smiled and continued to pet the critter happily. It was very obvious that the Cleffa enjoyed being petted."Of course if that's what you wish. But shouldn't you ask your big sister before making such a big decision?"

"Clef!" the little one responding, a hearty 'okay'. However when she turned, the Clefairy wasn't anywhere to be seen. The little critter looked around, clearly worried. "Clef...cleffa...ffa...?" then after a moment of panicked looking, the Star Shape Pokemon suddenly yet out a loud cry mixed with tears. "CLEFFA!"

Instantly concerned upon hearing the little one's wails, Serena rushed over and hugged the little Cleffa. "Shh...it's alright. It's alright. We'll find your big sister, she couldn't have gotten too far away. Right?"

"Clef...fa?" the little one turned to look at her, teary eyes looking very frightened. She was only a baby, separated from her sister. It must hurt. And Serena knew that pain all too well, losing anyone from family too soon sucked. But there was something else present. Hope. And it was growing stronger by the second. "_Mean it?_"

"Of course I do, now lets get going," the smiling response caught Misty's attention along with the amount of the responses Serena had given Cleffa that implied her ability to understand the baby Pokemon. This was confusing. And it seemed like Brock had the similar response to her, when Misty turned to look at her boyfriend's expression.

When Serena walked back her, Misty stopped her for a second. "Tonight. You. Me. We're talking about this," there was a flinch in the honey blonde's movement, clearly knowing what her red headed friend was talking about. "Got it?"

"Crystal..." Serena nodded quite awkwardly, holding Delta and Etoile close. Cleffa was by her feet, looking a little scared from the red head words. "...I will explain everything...well, the parts I can understand. But first, we need to reunite Cleffa with her sister."

Looking around, Serena eventually spotted an opening to the cave with little footprints on some sandy rocks that lined it. "Looks like Clefairy went that way," pulling out her poke ball, she recalled Etoile and picked up Cleffa so she wasn't walking anywhere else. "Don't worry, little one. I'm sure she hasn't gotten far."

"Serena!" Ash called from behind her, as she, Misty and Seymour got to the hole. Looking back briefly at the black haired boy, she waited until he finished what he wanted. "Me and Brock will do a quite check around the caves to see if there's any injured Pokemon and we'll catch up to you."

"Got it," after she responded, she curled through the hole and spotted Clefairy with a fearful look on her face running away. Her chubby arms wrapped protectively around the Moon Stone shard, clearly worried about its safety. "Clefairy. It's alright!" Serena called out, causing the Pokemon to learn back to her and stop. When she approached, Serena sighed in relief and put Cleffa down. "I kept her safe."

"Clefairy," came the response from the Pokemon, as she hugged her little sister. Then she turned to Serena, crying out a list of different sounds...well that's how it sounded to Misty and Seymour. Though the former expected Serena heard differently and based on Serena's facial expressions, she guessed right. "_Thanks for keeping her safe. Sorry for running off...I got so scared they were damage the shard. It's important for our evolution ceremony, where we produce high quality Moon Stones that trigger our evolutions._"

"A ceremony. Sounds like we need to protect those stones are all costs," Serena nodded her head before kneeling down before the sisters with a kind and caring smile on her face. "Don't worry, I promise that I'll keep the Moon Stones and the Clefairy family safe. You can count on me."

"Cle-fairy," came the nodded response. "_Thank you_" then the older sister turned to the baby and said. "_What do you say to the nice lady?_"

"Cleffa Clef!" came the adorable response that Serena soon realized meant. "_Thanks!_" came the cute response from the baby, showing off a precious milk tooth. "_You super nice!_" the little baby that jumped up into Serena's arms and nestled there. "_Big sissy. Me stay with nice lady?_"

It seemed like the Clefairy was a little concerned at first, looking up at Serena before making a decision and smiling. "Clefairy clefairy clef fairy," Misty and Seymour, the latter of which having caught onto Serena's seemingly insane ability to translate Pokemon, looked at the honey blonde for a moment as she listened. "_If she wishes to stay, then I'm perfectly fine with it. Protect my baby sister, please._"

"Of course, don't worry, Clefairy. I'll keep her perfectly safe. She isn't the only baby Pokemon that I'm caring for after all."

"Clefairy,"came the response after a moment, an equal smile on Serena's on the pink Pokemon's face. "_Oh please call me Aimee. We chose to name each other in our colony for easy access. Her name is,_" she stated, causing Serena to be pretty amazed, as she pointed towards the baby in Serena's arms. "_Reverie._"

"Beloved and Daydream...," came Serena's response, her natural language kicking in a second without thinking about it. It was just natural and she was amazed to hear their Pokemon use the Kalosian language.

On the other hand, the surprise on Aimee's face was evident when she heard Serena translate the words. "Clefairy?"came her response for Misty and Seymour to hear, whilst Serena heard the truth. "_How did you know what those words meant?_"

"Oh simple, Aimee. I'm Kalosian by birth," Serena pulled out a Poke Ball and threw it to the ground, watching it pop to reveal her beloved Budew. "My Budew is called Etoile for that reason."

"Clef clefairy fairy," the Pokemon seemed quite intrigued by this information. "_I see, for us. We were born to a Clefable from Kalos, he migrated over when some trainers destroyed his old habitat. With the help of some humans, he moved here to be with the rest of the Clefairy. Then he met our mother and we were born._"

"Clef clef!" came the response from the happy Star Shape Pokemon in Serena's arms. "_Yep yep. Daddy Kalowsian! Wike woo!_"

After the short cut in, Aimee nodded her head and smiled. "Clefairy clefairy clefairy clef," after that, she looked over the bridge to a cave deeper in the woods. "_Over there is our cave for the Moon Stone. Our ancient rock, what the Clefairy race came from many years ago. Tonight we will be having our ceremony. You are welcome to join us, you will be honorary guests for this year's performance._"

Suddenly, a growl was heard from nearby and everyone looked over to Meowth. He looked pretty intrigued by the information. "Nice to know, pipsqueak. Now hand over the moon stone shard!" he growled, before leaping into the air with his claws outstretched and glowing. Clearly he was planning to use Fury Swipes on the poor Clefairy.

Before Serena could react, Misty already had it covered as she released her Starmie before the group. "Starmie, use Water Gun on Meowth!" the top opening of Starmie's star-shaped body opened and sprayed water towards Meowth at a high pace that sent him back a few spaces. "Now use Swift!" the Starmie then span around until multiple glowing stars formed and slammed into Meowth.

But Meowth wasn't down for the count just yet and looked quite angry, suddenly his claws glowed darker and darker. Serena's eyes widened in horror at the realization that he was planning to use Shadow Claw. "Misty!" she yelled out, knowing the weakness that Starmie would have as a psychic type.

It seemed Misty picked up on this fact as well, when Meowth lunged into the air with his shadowy claws. "Starmie, dodge!" with a swirl on the body, Starmie ducked out of the way as Meowth came crashing into the floor mere steps before the trainers and Pokemon. "Now get rid of Meowth with Bubble Beam!"

Bubbles emerged from Starmie's body before crashing with a beam of water, striking Meowth square in the body before he could react. This gave the group the opportunity to breathe when they noticed Meowth was out conscious on the floor. After taking a breathe, the group heard a voice from behind them. "Guys, did you find Clefairy?"

Turning to her boyfriend, Serena let herself fall into his embrace after putting Delta and Reverie down on the floor. "Yep, we found her and she prefers to be called Aimee. Just so that you're aware."

Nodding his head, Ash smiled before they decided to find a location to set up camp. Eventually they found one near the cave that Aimee had pointed at. After pitching the tents (Brock had a second one) and preparing the sleeping bags, Serena and Brock began work on dinner. It was going to be a simple soup that should be pretty tasty in their eyes. After food was prepared, every Pokemon in the group was released to eat some Pokemon food. Onix, obviously, towered over the much smaller Pokemon that lived with them. However, Reverie wasn't even scared of Onix as she bounced up onto his head and giggled. She hadn't been captured officially yet, but everyone knew she was Serena's after introductions were made.

It seemed like Onix didn't mind the baby Pokemon bouncing on him and even seemed to smile at her. He growled, which she responded with some excitable 'clef's over and over. This caused Serena to smile, but she was still a little concerned about the Star Shape Pokemon's safety considering how high up Onix's head was from the ground. "Be careful up there, Reverie!"

Suddenly, her fears came true when Reverie jumped a little too far to the side and went falling off Onix's large head. Noticing this, Serena's fears turned into adrenaline and she ran forward with speed like she hadn't seen ever before from herself. Lunging, she grabbed Reverie before she hit the ground and the girl breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't be so reckless, Revi. You scared me there."

"Clef...cleffa..." when the response came, Serena realized she couldn't understand the response as well. Then she realized something, when she had been fighting team rocket before...she was quite scared for Etoile's safety and hadn't understand any of the Pokemon cries she had heard throughout. Now...it was the same. Was it linked to how extreme her emotions was? Might make some sense.

"Serena," she heard a stern voice from behind her and turned to see Misty's expecting voice. She knew exactly why and sighed. Hearing Reverie let out a little pip of her cry, she heard a 'what's wrong'. Okay, she wasn't as stressed or afraid anymore. Yeah, definitely potentially emotionally linked. "So what's with the ability to understand Pokemon?"

Sitting down on the temporary bench that she and Brock had set out. Turns out Brock was pretty resourceful and kept a bench that could be broken down for transport. "You see, I don't fully know what's going on myself," she explained, as Reverie hopped onto the table next to her with confusion. "But it started the day before Ash's gym battle."

"Do you remember what the first thing you heard was," Seymour asked, pretty curious by the fact that this girl seemed to have the ability to communicate with Pokemon. Sure, some psychics were able to and there were plenty of Pokemon capable of learning telepathy. But...he couldn't work out how she was able to and it brought an interest to him.

"Oh...um. We were at the Poke Mart...and...Ash showed me a picture of a Pokemon Contest said to happen in Cerulean City...I wasn't sure what to think, then I heard Delta crying out," at her name being said, the young fire type looked over from her position eating food with Pikachu and Aimee. "I wished I could understand her, and I don't know how...but I suddenly understood what she said. She wanted to take part in the contest, I never did ask her why...but I knew that's what she said when she confirmed it."

"Charmander char," came the cry from the fire type, drawing Serena's attention as she listened to the critter for a moment. "_I found the Roselia in the poster amazing. I wanted to become like them, to perform with you on stage! I want to prove to you that I'm not just a timid crybaby, that I can be a star!_"

At her Pokemon's words, Serena couldn't help but smile and opened her arms. Seeing the indication, Delta jumped into them and let out a happy 'char'. "She just explained why, she wants to prove that she's not just a crybaby...she's very like me in that regard..."

"So contest in Cerulean City, huh?" Brock stated, as if musing over the idea and potential thought of Serena doing contests. "And you're considering entering with Delta, correct?"

"That's partially the plan...I'm still considering it. But if that's what my little girl wants, then why should I deny her," Serena explained with a smile, then a faint blush appeared on her face as she began leaning on Ash's shoulder. "Plus, a certain somebody told me that he found me cute..."

This resulted in Ash choking on a vegetable in the soup, coughing for a bit before blushing and rubbing his cheek awkwardly. Seeing the other's looking at him with a knowing face, besides Serena. He grumbled. "...Of course I find her cute, she's my girlfriend," then he remembered something and looked at Brock. "Don't you find Misty cute?"

"Of course I do," this added to Ash's already stated words had the red head blushing almost as dark as her hair. Brock then slung an arm around her neck, drawing her into a side hug. "I just wish I could have said her more to her..."

"...W-well..." came the blushy girl's response, before looking away in an almost...stereotypical pose as if trying to deny something. "...Y-you can s-say it as often as you want now...b-but ONLY you. Nobody else can..."

"Of course, Mist," Brock smiled, continuing his side hug.

"Aww, how sweet," Serena complimented as she continued petting Delta with a smile. Then she recalled something and had to ask with a sweet smile on her features. "How did you two meet anyway?"

"Well, we met 'cause my older sisters knew Brock's mother. They had been babysat by her at some point. Not sure why. So when my mother left, Daisy and the others often left me to be babysat by Brock's mother. Brock was already 2 at the time I was born, but we developed a strong bond quickly," Misty explained after she calmed down a bit and released herself from Brock's side hug. "...I was always in Pewter City as a child, besides the few times my big sisters could look after me when they were taking care of the gym."

"PIKAPI!" suddenly came a loud yell, causing everyone to look at the distressed Pikachu. Serena nudged her boyfriend, indicating that Pikachu was calling for him.

"What's wrong, little buddy?" Ash said, walking over to the electric rodent with a concerned expression on his face.

"Pikachu pika!" came the cry as Pikachu pointed at something nearby. Going down the mountain side on a sledge was team rocket, with a giant rocket. Many Clefairy were chasing after it with concerned expressions. "Pikachu pika pikachu pichu!"

"Ash, Team Rocket are stealing the Moon Stone!" came Serena's gasped translation. This caught Aimee's and Reverie's attention, causing them to clasp their paws together and chase after the rocket that was their species' treasure. Following the fairy Pokemon, Serena ran off ahead. She needed to make sure that Reverie was okay for starters.

"Onix, come on out!" Brock yelled behind her, but she didn't pay much attention as she ran towards the rock. "Use Dig!"

Hearing the command, a smirk appeared on Serena's face. She had a plan, picking on her pace as she chased after the two fairies. Quickly she grabbed Reverie into her arms and focused on a moment. How could she communicate her plan to Aimee. Then she thought, how was it she could understand the Pokemon...maybe. Thinking heavily and focusing strong, she yelled in her mind something.

Aimee's confused expression showed she picked up the message, she was too far to hear any verbal message. But she turned to look at Serena and nodded. Moments later, she ran into the trees to look for the other Clefairy to begin the plan. Serena lunged out of the tree line and in front of the sliding rock. Team Rocket looked shocked, but Serena just smirked. Internally she was scared they wouldn't stop, but she didn't show that on her face. "Aimee now!" she yelled out.

"Clefairy!" a herd of Clefairy charged open and began to use a Metronome attack. Moments later, various attacks were used until a useful one popped up. That was Psychic, pinning the sliding rock into place. But it wasn't fast enough to stopped it hitting Serena a bit and sending her flying to the floor. Pain filled her body, but she had kept Delta and Reverie safe.

"Serena," Ash yelled, running to her side and holding her. He saw the bruises that blanketed her arms and face. But she didn't seem seriously hurt. Moments later, Onix popped through the ground and growled out loud. Reverie looked excited as Brock emerged from the trees.

"Onix, use Rock Tomb!" slamming his body down, Onix forced rocks to emerge in front of the sledge before the psychic wore off. Seeing this opportunity, the Clefairy used another set of Metronome. Various attacks ranging from Ember to Moonblast was used, but the powerful Hyper Beam from Aimee slammed into the rocks and then into Team Rocket. This sent them flying back, bruised from the attack.

The Moon Stone had broken on impact, scattering around. Pure shards of Moon Stone scattered around, hitting many of the Clefairy and being absorbed. Evolutions were triggered all around. One of the shards landed on Serena's lap and she looked at Reverie for a moment. Reverie's face was all she needed, the confirmation to place it in her bag for later usage. "Whoa. That was pretty great. That Metronome came out better than I could have expected, gang," she said happily, picking herself up with a sigh. "Thanks for passing on the message, Aimee."

"Clef clef clefairy,"came the response from Aimee, who smiled back at her. "_If it weren't for that random telepathic message you sent, I wouldn't have even been able to. It was your decision._"

"Tel..." Serena thought for a moment after whispering out the word, she didn't know what she had done. It just felt natural after some concentration. Her telepathic message to create a good diversion with their random attack before Onix came out of his Dig, and then use another Metronome to get rid of them. "...I did use telepathy...didn't I?"

"Telepathy?" Ash gasped, hearing what she said. He knew that some Pokemon were capable of telepathy, and some psychics could under training. But Serena wasn't a Pokemon or a psychic, as far as he was aware.

"Yeah...I communicated with Aimee via a internal message...but I don't know how...," she explained in response to the question. "But...it worked and look," she pointed at the happy Clefable and Clefairy. Even without their precious Moon Stone, they were happy for the evolution and many shards of Moon Stone still remained. "They're happy."

"Cleffa!" the little baby in her arms yelled before leaping over to hug Aimee. Serena watched for a moment before hearing what Reverie had stated. "_Bye bye, sissy!_" a sad hue of a smile appeared on her lips, knowing that it wasn't going to be easy.

Aimee seemed to share in that thoughts as she sadly hugged her little sister. "Clefairy clef," she responded, with a sad face and tears. "_Good bye, Reverie. Have fun on your journey. You will do great, I know you will. Its...going to be hard...missing you, but I'm sure you'll visit one day._"

"Of course she will, I'll make sure of it," Serena responded with a smile as she knelt down before Aimee. "Don't worry about her safety, she won't come to any harm. I don't like battling as much as Ash...so she won't ever be seen in battle. She'll be as safe as my other Pokemon. I don't wish any harm to come to any of my Pokemon. Reverie included."

It seemed Aimee nodded, letting go of Reverie and included for her to go to Serena. The girl pulled out a moon ball, one of the many types of balls she had brought at the poke mart. Moments later, Reverie looked up at her and tapped the ball. Aimee smiled as she watched her sister go into the ball, before turning to head back to a herd. "Clefairy fairy..." which caused a smile to appear on Serena, before the Clefairy herd left.

"What did she say?" came Ash's question after hearing the Clefairy's short word, looking at his girlfriend for the answer.

"...Good luck to both me and Reverie for our dreams," came the response, including a happy smile on the girl's face. Releasing Reverie from her ball, she opened her pokedex and waited for a moment. "...Reverie. You alright with being called 'Revi' as a nickname?" A nod was gifted as Serena smiled, scanning her newest Pokemon into her Pokedex.

_Cleffa, the Star Shape Pokemon. On nights with many shooting stars, Cleffa can be seen dancing in a ring. They dance through the night and stop only at the break of day, when these Pokemon quench their thirst with the morning due._

_Type: Fairy  
_

_Ability: Friend Guard - this ability protects the Pokemon's partner from the full extent of damage dealing moves, reducing their damage significantly.  
_

_Gender: Female  
_

_Nature: Naive_

_Move(s): Pound, Charm, Aromatherapy (Egg Move. Unlocked) and Heal Pulse (Egg Move. Unlocked)_

"Well," Seymour walked over to the group. "I should get work on removing those lights from the caves and I'm sure you lot need to get moving on your journey. I also need to inform about this to the higher ups."

"Right," the two nodded their head, soon joined by Misty and Brock. Misty looked over Serena's injuries with concern, but soon just hugged her. Noticing her friend's concern, Serena tried to put them at else. "I'm fine, Misty. I swear. Just a few bumps."

Shaking his head, Brock soon explained. "We're going to head back to camp and then I'll tend to those bruises of yours, we also need to plan out for tomorrow. Cerulean City isn't too far away now and I'm sure that we can reach there tomorrow," hearing this, Misty looked a little sad. But that went unnoticed.

"And my gym battle can be done the next day after some practice!" Ash realized with some delight in his eyes. "I can't wait for our battle, Misty."

"Ya...me neither."

And with that, the group parted ways from Seymour and headed back to their campsite and settled down for the sight. The couples had their own tents, as per the arrangement based on Serena's nightmares. Of course, before they settled down, Serena's bruised up arms were bandaged. Apparently she had sprained a wrist based on Brock's analysis and would need it checked out. But, she just said that she had to help the Clefairy. Getting injured by being hit by a rock wasn't the worse thing...at least that's what she thought.

Ash had other ideas, but calmed down and just decided they all needed to settle down for the night instead. After they all settled down, the Pokemon, however, were still up. And Reverie sat on the table in front of the tents. She looked pretty lonely there, so Pikachu and Delta came over to her. "_Revi?_" Delta asked. "_Are you okay?_"

"_Me fine...just...miss big sissy..._"

"_Yea. I can understand that,_" said Aoi, who wandered out of the tent after hearing that. "_Me and Niddy decided to move out on our own before Ash and Serena caught us. I miss my mom and dad a lot, but they respected my decision to get trainers. After all, its a lot safer than being a wild Pokemon at times. Maybe that's how your sister feels regarding you leaving with Serena._"

"_You dink?_" came the response from the young Pokemon, wondering if that truly was the case or not.

"_Of course, she would want your safety above anything else,_" Pikachu responded, before looking at the tent. "_Its the same with how our trainers feel. They want to keep us safe, Serena more than Ash. Both of them are willing to jump in front of attacks to save Pokemon, they are quite amazing._"

"_Yeah, dey are. Rena saved Bubu!_" Revi jumped up, recalling the event that she had witnessed within the caves. She seemed amazed by that, she was so excitable as she bounced up and down at the thought.

"_Guys, you know that your rambling could awaken our trainers,_" came Bubblegum's ever strict voice. However, she had a smile on her face as she bounced up to them. "_I'll do sentry duty and look after Revi if she doesn't wish to go to sleep. You 3 need to go bed. Pikachu, you especially. Ash will expect you to be up and ready for training, no doubt._"

A unison cry of 'Okay' was heard before the trio of Pokemon headed inside. Bubblegum smiled as she sat down and prepared to keep watch. "_I usually come out a night to keep watch, even when Serena has told me not too. Its in my nature to stand duty...and protect baby Pokemon like you from wild Pokemon._"

"_Big Sissy Gummy,_" this earned a surprised look from the Sentry Pokemon, but she smiled and petted the Star Shape Pokemon's head as a sign to continue. "_How'd woo meet Rena?_"

"_Simple, little one. Delta came to talk to me and I decided that it was my time to move on. I had done my duty to protect my pack, someone else needed to be passed on the touch. And me...to find my own place. That place is with our trainer, she's a sweet kid. Protective...but afraid. Be there for her, like how the rest of us are. You'll find your place, and regardless of anything. I'm sure Serena will be happy with whatever you want to do._"

"_Even if...me want to battle?_" she asked, almost hypothetical in how she put it. But it did draw Bubblegum's thoughts towards the young Pokemon, as she considered what the little one had just said. A Baby Pokemon that wanted to battle, it definitely impressed her. But she still wanted that confirmation.

"_You wish to battle?_"

"_Maybe..._"

"_If you want to battle, I'm sure Serena will respect that. She's not as into battling per say, from what I can tell...she wishes to do contests. However,_" this Sentry Pokemon smiled down at the young pink Pokemon. "_Contests do have battles...and I'm sure they are pretty fun._"

"_Thx, Gummy...woo nice,_" the shiny didn't respond, but her smile remained constant as she looked into the wilderness. Her eyes seemed to be watching something, but Revi never noticed any of it. By this point, Revi's eyes were growing more and more tired. "_Me sleepy..._"

"_Go to bed, little one. Tomorrow could be a big day, even for you. You never know what could be planned._"

"_Night night..._," with that, the young Cleffa hopped off the bench and went back into the tent as Bubblegum watched with a mature smile on her face. Almost motherly in nature. But then her eyes slashed back into the forest. All smiles had faded, leaving a serious frown on the shiny's face.

"_Come on out!_" with that, a pack of Houndour emerged from the trees. Hoping down on the bench, Bubblegum eyed them warily. She knew she could probably take them, but she still needed to be cautious. After a moment of silence, one of the Houndour lunged with his mouth full of fire. "_Too easy,_" she yelled, before dodging and slashing the Houndour across the nose with her Scratch. Suddenly her Scratch got stronger and more refined. "_Fury swipes...Alright!_"

"_Come at me, I'm sure I can take down all of you before you take down me,_" and with that, the Houndour began charging to avenge their fallen friend whilst a smirk emerged on the shiny's face. Sure, she was the serious type...but turning down a good fight was never on her to-do list. It was what she liked to do, simple as that.

* * *

Ash's Pokemon  
Pikachu (Male)(Brave)  
Metapod (Male)(Modest)  
Pidgeotto (Female)(Bold)  
Nidoran (Male)(Adamant)

Serena's Pokemon  
Charmander (Female)(Timid) Nickname: Delta  
Shiny Sentret (Female)(Serious) Nickname: Bubblegum  
Budew (Female)(Jolly) Nickname: Etoile  
Nidoran (Female)(Docile) Nickname: Aoi  
Cleffa (Female)(Naive) Nickname: Reverie (Revi)

Misty's Pokemon  
Staryu (Relaxed)  
Starmie (Quiet)  
Goldeen (Female)(Sassy)

Brock's Pokemon  
Geodude (Male)(Hardy)  
Onix (Male)(Quirky)  
Zubat (Female)(Careful)


End file.
